¡Cascarón!

If you haven’t found the time to decorate Easter eggs, there is still time to participate in ¡Cascarón! to be held at the Museum of South Texas History. Bring family and friends to decorate cascarones, or egg shells, with decorating materials provided by the museum. Guests are encouraged to bring their own baskets.

Museum admission is free from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., so be sure to get here early. Starting at 10 a.m., blank and pre-painted cascarones will be available for purchase, while supplies last. Bring some cash, because both pre-painted and blank cascarones will be sold at $2 per dozen. Stations will be set up in the musuem’s Grand Lobby, behind the stairs, for families to paint their blank egg shells. All supplies will be provided with the purchase of blank egg shells.

Once you finish decorating your eggs, you can attend a book presentation featuring UTRGV’s Book Buzz, which will begin at 11 a.m. in the Courtyard Gallery. Book Buzz’s objective is to promote literacy across the Rio Grande Valley by organizing book donations and volunteering within the community.

While your decorated eggs are drying, you can enjoy a special presentation featuring Sylvia Sanchez Garza, who will present her first novel, aptly named “Cascarones,” at 12:30 p.m. According to her website, Cascarones is a young adult coming-of-age story “that revolves around a Mexican American family living in the Rio Grande Valley. The main character, Suzy, as well as her family and friends are enriched by rich traditions and culture of the region, shaping who she becomes. The narrative shifts from present to the past to connect readers with cultural traditions that changed through the years. It exposes how Easter was and currently is celebrated in the Rio Grande Valley” and what it was like growing up during the 1960s and 1970s as a Mexican-American amidst discriminatory undertones. She will be available after the presentation to sign her book, which can be purchased at the Museum Store.

Sylvia Sanchez Garza was born in Mercedes and raised in Weslaco. As a young girl, her family moved to Houston for a few years while her father worked on his doctorate’s degree at the University of Houston. She returned to and settled in the Rio Grande Valley. “I knew that it would always be my home,” Sanchez Garza confessed.

She and husband, Richard, live in Edinburg and own a real estate company. She has four grown sons who make her very proud. She holds a bachelors of arts in English, a masters of arts in School Administration and a doctorate degree in Leadership Studies. “Cascarones” is her first novel.

The event will end with a cascarón hunt in the museum’s Gran Paseo at 1:30 p.m., just outside the Grand Entrance. Sodas, lemonade and water will be sold by Girl Scout Troop #391 to raise money for the museum’s education department.

Guests who arrive before noon will receive free admission to the ¡Cascarón! activities and the signature exhibition, Rio Grande Legacy. The ¡Cascarón! event is included in regular museum admission: $8 adults (ages 18+); $6 seniors with ID (ages 62+) and students with ID (ages 13+); $5 for children (ages 4 to 12); free for children ages 3 and younger. FRIENDS of the Museum are admitted free as a benefit of FRIENDship. For more information on the event or becoming a FRIEND of the Museum, call +1-956-383-6911.

Schedule

10 a.m. Egg/Cascarón Painting

11 a.m. Book Buzz Read Aloud & Easter Basket Activity

12:30 p.m. “Cascarones” featuring Sylvia Sanchez Garza

1:15 p.m. “Cascarones” Book Signing in the Grand Lobby

1:30 p.m. Easter Egg Hunt in the Gran Paseo