{"id":234448,"date":"2026-04-04T03:16:10","date_gmt":"2026-04-04T03:16:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/234448\/"},"modified":"2026-04-04T03:16:10","modified_gmt":"2026-04-04T03:16:10","slug":"easter-camping-in-brackenridge-park-is-a-70-year-tradition-for-this-san-antonio-family","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/234448\/","title":{"rendered":"Easter camping in Brackenridge Park is a 70-year tradition for this San Antonio family"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sign up for\u00a0TPR Today<\/a>, Texas Public Radio’s newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.<\/p>\n

One of San Antonio\u2019s more unique Easter traditions is camping in Brackenridge Park and several other city parks. As the holiday weekend ramps up, tents are already set up as the city lifts its usual camping curfew.<\/p>\n

Families who already have their spaces staked out start claiming them in the days leading up to the holiday. That includes the Cerna family, which has been camping in the same area of Brackenridge Park for 70 years.<\/p>\n

In a corner of the park with three picnic tables next to the historic Donkey Barn, a longtime park structure that resembles the Alamo, Joshua Cerna lights a cigar and opens a beer with his uncle, Augie Cerna.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe call it \u2018The Spot,\u2019\u201d Augie said. \u201c\u2018See you at the spot\u2019 \u2014 everybody knows where this is.\u201d<\/p>\n

As for when they got here this year, Joshua said they started claiming it on Saturday. There are also unwritten rules about how to claim areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you drive around, you\u2019ll see a table taped off, or an area marked off. But this is a lot of real estate for Easter weekend,\u201d he said, referring to \u201cThe Spot.\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s Wednesday night at dusk. There are about 20 Cerna family members here. They\u2019re expecting about 150 people, including friends and neighbors, throughout the weekend.<\/p>\n

Their table has a cardboard sign that says \u201cReserved\u201d with their last name.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the elder table, and when I found myself here, I realized that I was getting old,\u201d he said, pointing to nearby tables. \u201cThose are the young cousins over there \u2014 loud music. They\u2019re staying up till 5:00 or 6:00 in the morning. And then that\u2019s the West Side. They\u2019re all from Lanier,\u201d referring to the high school.<\/p>\n

Between the three tables, kids toss a football. At least two grills are going.<\/p>\n

Augie is the eldest family member. He said there are photos of him here at age 7, around 1955. \u201cIt\u2019s a get-together. Some families have reunions; some people don\u2019t,\u201d he said. \u201cBut our reunion, we don\u2019t have to plan it. We know we\u2019re going to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Normally, camping overnight in San Antonio parks is prohibited \u2014 except when the city lifts its curfew specifically for Easter, beginning Thursday.<\/p>\n

Some of the younger Cerna family members will camp overnight.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll be here at the campsite,\u201d Augie Cerna said. \u201cPeople can spend the night. Friday, traditionally, we always have fish \u2014 we\u2019ll have a fish fry. Everybody brings fish. We have a crawfish boil. Saturday, we have a poker game sometimes. And then Easter \u2014 the egg toss is Sunday, and an Easter egg hunt for the kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prepping all of this requires coordination, especially when it comes to food, which Joshua said took some time to master.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne year, I brought chicken thighs. Then my uncle shows up and he had the same idea. Then my cousins show up, and we ended up with 15 pounds of pinche chicken thighs,\u201d he recalled, laughing. \u201cAnd it\u2019s like, OK, yeah, let\u2019s get a little bit more organized on this.\u201d<\/p>\n

But regardless of what food is brought, being together is what matters.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tradition was here long before I was, and I pray it\u2019s here long after we\u2019re gone,\u201d Joshua said.<\/p>\n

San Antonio authorized camping in 11 city parks over the weekend. Here\u2019s where in 2026:<\/p>\n

Brackenridge Park \u2014 3700 N. St. Mary\u2019s Brackenridge Park \u2014 First Tee, 915 E. Mulberry (beginning Friday, April 3 at 3 p.m.)Brackenridge Park \u2014 Lions Field, 2809 BroadwayMcAllister Park \u2014 13102 Jones MaltsbergerMLK Park \u2014 3503 Martin Luther King DriveRoosevelt Park \u2014 331 Roosevelt Ave.San Pedro Springs Park \u2014 1315 San Pedro Ave.O.P. Schnabel Park \u2014 9606 Bandera RoadSouthside Lions Park \u2014 3100 HiawathaSouthside Lions Park East \u2014 3900 Pecan ValleyWoodlawn Lake Park \u2014 1103 Cincinnati (excludes the Island House and gym areas)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sign up for\u00a0TPR Today, Texas Public Radio’s newsletter that brings our top stories to your inbox each morning.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":234449,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[82,84,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-234448","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-antonio","8":"tag-san-antonio","9":"tag-san-antonio-headlines","10":"tag-san-antonio-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234448","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=234448"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/234448\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/234449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=234448"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=234448"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=234448"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}