About Tangipahoa Parish, LA

Have breakfast with Santa Bear in Hammond on Saturday, December 4, 2010 at the Louisiana Children's Discovery Center. From 8am to 10am, parents are encouraged to bring their children to enjoy milk and donuts, look through the museum's exhibits and take pictures with both Santa Bear as well as Santa Claus. Make sure to bring your own cameras for the pictures, though, parents.

This event has been set up to benefit the Santa Bear Christmas Crusade, who gives toys to kids (ages 2-8) of underprivileged Hammond families for the holidays. The price of admission to the breakfast with Santa Bear is just one new, unwrapped toy from each child who attends. You're always welcome to bring more if you would like. The toughest age group to get enough toys for tends to be the 7 to 8-year-olds. So, if you can bring more than one gift, please make at least one of them for these guys.

In addition to toys, the Santa Bear Christmas Crusade is also in need of monetary donations. Their goal this year is $15,000. But, with the slow economy, they've only been able to raise about half of their goal so far. They're afraid that if they are unable to meet their goal, they may have to start turning away Hammond families in need from the applications that have already been turned in. They would love to be able to help all the applicants instead of turning to a lottery system.

If you wish you make a toy donation but are unable to attend the breakfast, please bring them to:

The Daily Star
725 S Morrison Blvd
Hammond, LA

If you can make a monetary donation, you can bring a check to The Daily Star's offices or send a check to:

Christmas Crusade for Children
PO Box 1149
Hammond, LA 70404

Come to the Louisiana Children's Discovery Center on Saturday, December 4, 2010 from 8-10am and have breakfast with Santa Bear in Hammond. Bring a new, unwrapped toy to help benefit Hammond families in need this holiday season. Enjoy a fun event and make a difference in local lives.

Yvonne Martin and The Martin Team, Let My Family Bring Your Family Home to Hammond Real Estate

I will admit two things: 1) most reality TV is pretty crappy and 2) I apparently love crap.  It's junk food for the mind, really.  However, I have a new guilty pleasure: "Swamp People" on the History Channel.  And it's not crap!  The show is set in the bayous of Louisiana (must be said like "Loozeeana") during the 30 day Alligator Season (yes, they have an Alligator Season).  With guys named Cleetus and Junior, how can you go wrong?  Then there's Troy (who talks like Ray, the lightning bug from Disney's "The Princess and The Frog"), who thrust his bare hand into the muddy waters to loosen the line that was caught up in the roots of the Bald Cypress trees that grow in the area...while it was attached to the alligator...THAT HE COULD NOT SEE!  Yeah, I was hooked from that point on.

Then there's Bruce, who looks EXACTLY how you would expect an alligator hunter in Southern Louisiana to look like.  He's got wild hair which he tries to keep out of his eyes underneath a bandana and wears overall shorts with no shirt.  Unlike the other hunters who work in groups, ol' Brucey goes by himself with just his trusty dawg in the boat with him.  And he feeds his dog Little Debbie snack cakes as a treat after they catch an alligator.  When I saw that, I have to admit that my first thought was not for the dog's safety but rather "the sugar in those things can't be good for the dog."

Bruce and his brother Mike (who looks like HE should be named Cleatus) run the family turtle and alligator farm.  Also unlike the rest of the hunting groups, Bruce and his brother have cut out the middle man by processing their own alligator meat and preparing the alligator hides to sell themselves by using a salting method for the hides that goes all the way back to the Civil War days.  The alligator farm is open to tourists so they can make more money, too.  Yes, Bruce is an enterprising soul.

If you want to experience my new guilty pleasure for yourself (you won't be sorry), check your local listings for "Swamp People" on the History Channel.  You can thank me later!

Heather Chavez, Real Estate Virtual Assistant

This Saturday, October 9, 2010, there will be a Ponchatoula estate sale to raise money for local homeless shelter Serenity House. Money raised from the estate sale will go towards paying for much needed items at Serenity House, such as paved handicapped parking and a commercial grade hood for their stove that was recently declared out of compliance with fire code by the Ponchatoula Fire Department's inspectors. Serenity House won't be able to cook their two meals a day for the home's 27 residents until the hood is replaced.

The estate sale, coordinated by the Ponchatoula First Baptist Church Busy Bees Club, will be held at the Ponchatoula Community Center (300 N Sixth St) from 8am to 4pm this Saturday. In addition to the bikes, toys, furniture, baby clothes, jewelry and other items available for sale, there will be kids games, a plant sale and a cake sale during the event.

Just like many non-profit organizations, Ponchatoula's Serenity House is struggling financially. Since this is the only homeless shelter in Tangipahoa Parish, it is the only home for its residents. Without Serenity House, they would have nowhere to go. Come to the Ponchatoula estate sale this Saturday to help raise money for the local homeless shelter. You'll have fun, be able to purchase great items and help a fantastic organization who helps the community.

Yvonne Martin, your Ponchatoula real estate specialist

Come see the JamFest Indie Film Festival in Hammond on September 24-25, 2010. For the third year in a row, the indie film fest will be screening 50 films from around the world, including several made in our own United States. A special screening of children's films will be held Saturday morning as well. The Northshore Regional Endowment of the Arts is sponsoring this festival in downtown Hammond.

All films will be screened within a couple of blocks of each other in downtown Hammond, at either the Hammond Regional Arts Center (217 E Thomas St) or Tope la Catering (113 E Thomas Street). That way, you can easily commute between each venue to catch the movies you want to see.

The screenings will be broken down into sections, such as comedies, dramas, documentaries, musical documentaries and videos and Platinum ("Best of the Fest"). Included in the Platinum screenings will be a New Orleans' comedy production of "I Ran Against Us". The screening schedule will be as follows:

Friday, September 24
Comedies - 5:30-9:30pm at Hammond Regional Arts Center
Drama - 5:30-9:30pm at Tope la Catering

Saturday, September 25
Children's Movies - 9:00-11:45am at Hammond Regional Arts Center
Filmmakers Seminar with Emmy Winner Robert A Nowotny - 10:00-11:30am at Tope la Catering
Filmmakers Roundtable - 11:30am-1:00pm at Tope la Catering
Experimental Films - 1:00-4:30pm at Hammond Regional Arts Center
Best of the Fest - 1:00-4:40pm at Tope la Catering
Music Videos and Music Documentaries - 6:00-9:00pm at Hammond Regional Arts Center
Documentaries - 6:00-9:15pm at Tope la Catering

Movies that will be screened during the film festival come as far away as Singapore, Australia, France, Spain and Iran as well as those filmed in our own backyard of Slidell and Hammond.

Tickets are only $10 for adults, $5 for kids (for the children's screening only) and SLU students get in free when they show their ID. The $10 tickets will get you in to both days of screenings. Tickets can be purchased prior to the festival at Dr. Ted's Musician Center (1200 W Thomas St), PJ Coffee & Tea Co (224 W Thomas St), Worlds End Cafe (1000 N Oaks St), the Hammond Regional Arts Center or Tope la Catering.

If you love movies, you'll love the Indie Film Festival in Hammond on September 24th and 25th, 2010.

Yvonne Martin, your Hammond real estate expert

On Friday, September 10th and Saturday, September 11th, the Fraternal Order of Police Hammond Lodge 34 will be holding its 4th annual Chili Cook Off in Hammond. For just $10, you can eat as much chili as your tummy can stand. This event will be open on Friday from 6-10pm and Saturday from 7am-5pm. On both Friday and Saturday, come out to see classic cars on display at the Golden Oldies Auto Club Car Show. Enjoy live music all weekend. There will also be a live auction and kids' spacewalk throughout the downtown Hammond area. What a fun way to celebrate Patriot Day (September 11th). Prizes will be awarded for the chili cook off and car show.

If you're interested in participating in the chili cook off, please call Edwin at 985-969-4101. And, if you wish to participate in the car show, call either Joe at 985-969-6805 or Tony at 985-662-6332. Bring the family down this weekend to the Car Show and Chili Cook Off in Hammond. It's fun for everyone!

Yvonne Martin, The Martin Team, Let my family bring your family home to Hammond real estate