A weekend of special activities at Grand Gulf Military Park will be highlighted today with the dedication of the pavilion to one of the park’s founders and long-serving commissioners.

Port Gibson native Edgar T. Crisler Sr. served on the board of commissioners from the park’s founding in 1958 until 1972.

“The park meant a lot to him,” said Emma Crisler, current editor and publisher of the Port Gibson Reveille who was Edgar Crisler Sr.’s daughter-in-law. Emma Crisler will attend today’s ceremony with two family members, she said.

The covered pavilion, to be dedicated to Crisler at 2 p.m. is one Grand Gulf park’s most popular spots, used for family reunions, school groups, church outings and weddings.

Another popular spot is the Dog Trot House, not far from the visitor center. A group of Sons of Confederate Veterans set up camp Friday night behind the house, where they will provide “living history” lessons and anecdotes for park visitors today and Sunday, said Thomas “Bud” Ross, the park’s executive director.

“These people are very knowledgeable of the Civil War, the times, the era, the way people lived,” Ross said. “They don’t do re-enactments, they do a living history that teaches people about the Civil War.”

Visitors are encouraged to ask questions, and the group will be dressed in period costumes, display artifacts and cook over a campfire.