SAN ANTONIO – Maureen Berryman is a Night in Old San Antonio Cascarones Committee volunteer, a tradition she started doing with her mother 35 years ago.
“I was raised with them, and we grew up, you know, doing this for Easter,” she said.
Berryman is one of several volunteers who work year-round to make the cascarones to sell during NIOSA. At three for $1, the funds go toward helping to preserve historic buildings in San Antonio.
Between 50,000 to 60,000 eggs are filled in a year by the volunteers.
Berryman said it’s a very easy and fun craft to do with kids. Here’s how to do it:
- Collect as many as a dozen eggs before getting started.
- First, gently crack the eggs around the top and rinse it off with water.
- Then, color the shells with acrylic paint and let it dry.
- Fill it with confetti and top it off with tissue paper, using a paint brush to put glue on both sides of the egg where the tissue paper will stay.
- After a few hours, the glue is dry and ready to be cracked.
NIOSA Decorating Committee Chairman Judy Simon said there’s artistic expression in making the cascarones.
“I like to color coordinate my tops so that, you know, they match the egg, you know, egg-colored stuff. And it’s fun,” she said.
Simon said the eggs are a symbol to wish someone good luck.
“The more confetti you have in your hair, the more popular you are, the more loved you are,” Simon said.
The Egg Ladies meet every Thursday year-round. They welcome new volunteers and donations of empty eggshells.
NIOSA is scheduled for April 29 through May 2 at La Villita. Grounds will be open from 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m.
Click here to get information on how to get involved with NIOSA as a volunteer.
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