DENHAM SPRINGS • LIVINGSTON • WALKER • WATSON • AMITE • HAMMOND
ADVOCATE THE LIVINGSTON-TANGIPAHOA
T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
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W e d n e s d ay, au g u s t 28, 2024
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Ashley N. Henderson and Lori E. Henderson where among the many visitors to the Hot August Stroll sponsored by Hammond’s Downtown development District. The two were enjoying live music in the city’s Railroad Park.
CELEBRATING SUNNY DAYS
PHOTOS BY VIC COUVILLION
Southeast Louisiana University cheerleaders, from left, Haley Martin, Annabella Daigle and Claire Milazzo are among the award winning squad performing at Lionpawlooza, part of the Hot August Stroll sponsored by Hammond’s Downtown Development District on Saturday.
Visitors flock to downtown Hammond for Hot August Stroll
BY VIC COUVILLION Contributing writer
Twice a year Hammond’s Downtown Development District invites visitors to come to the city’s Historic Downtown District for a day filled with activities including live music, shopping, food and other pursuits. One such day salutes the summer and the other the winter and in each case the weather is part of the event. The latest such endeavor, Hot August Stroll, held Aug. 24, lived up to its billing: The day was blazing hot under a cloudless sky. The other, Starry, Starry November Night, will come much later in the year and the temperatures for that occasion will more than likely be far more agreeable. Despite the heat, the crowds still poured into the heart of the city for a daylong celebration that signaled the approaching end of the summer with the promise that comes with the start of a new school year. As to the later, part of the celebration was Lionpawlooza, a tribute to the coming athletic seasons at Southeastern Louisiana University. The day started with the Hammond Farmers and Artisans Market in Railroad Park in the heart of the city and ended with a concert featuring Amanda Shaw. Shaw’s show in Cate Square Park
Bruce Ebarb, of Springfield, was among the farmers participating in Hammond’s Farmers and Artisans Market. drew a huge crowd that filled the historic square that has been a muchvisited locale since the city’s earliest days. For Shaw, her performance in Hammond was a coming home experience to where her career had its early roots. Her parents met while students at Southeastern, only a few blocks away
from Cate Square. Shaw began her music studies on the same campus and from her early training as a violinist she eventually transitioned into an acclaimed fiddler and song writer. Shaw has performed throughout the United States and abroad since her ear-
ly days in Tangipahoa Parish. She was inducted into the Louisiana Music Hall of Fame in 2020. Much of her music is about her home state and a song she wrote and performed about Louisiana brought raucous cheers from the crowd who welcomed her back home with applause and cheering. Music was very much part of Hot August Stroll. Southeastern fans, also large in numbers, had the opportunity to hear the university’s marching band at the Lionpawlooza. The band was accompanied by the Lionettes, a troupe of dancers who perform at university sporting events, and the school’s national award winning cheerleading squad. Coaches from the university’s various athletic teams addressed the crowds and introduced some of the athletes who will be performing this year. After the introductions the athletes remained to sign autographs for their fans. Live music continued during the day on several stages set up in the downtown area. Among the groups entertaining the crowds were: Will Vance and Kin Folks; Benjamin Thomas & Roberto Ruiz; The Gosh Darn Dangs; Callie Hines; Hex Windham and the Phaze Band; Jared Daws and The Dusk Singers; and Josephine Alphonso. Several bars and restaurants also featured live
ä See SUNNY, page 3G
Livingston Parish Library’s Summer Reading Program breaks record Community news report
PROVIDED PHOTO
Members of the Tri-Parish Ballet take a bow after performing ‘A Princess Tea Party’ at the Main Branch of the Livingston Parish Library on July 19. The performance was part of the Library’s Summer Reading Program. This year’s theme was ‘Adventure Begins at Your Library.’
Livingston Parish Library patrons logged more than 76,000 books — nearly 1,000 per day — during a record-breaking Summer Reading Program challenge. This summer, the Library set all-time highs for the number of SRP registrations and completions, as well as the record for highest SRP event attendance, a library news release said. The library’s Summer Reading Program awards prizes to readers of all ages for reading books and attending Library events during the summer months. This year’s Summer Reading Program ran May 20 — Aug. 4. The theme was “Adventure Begins at Your Library.” “This was an unforgettable summer, with one adventure after adventure,” said Livingston Parish Library Director Michelle Parrish. “Our Summer Reading Program continues to get bigger and
more successful, and that is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our incredible staff. “We try to offer as much as possible, because we want people of all ages and interests to feel like there is something for them at the Library,” Parrish said. “Summer Reading has become something our patrons look forward to every year, and we are thrilled by this year’s response, because it once again shows that Livingston Parish values and treasures its library system. We are proud to serve this community.”
Registrations, completions Approximately 4,800 patrons registered for this year’s program, including 3,269 who completed the challenge. To complete the SRP challenge, a patron must read a certain number of books or attend a certain number of library
ä See LIBRARY, page 2G
Ducks Unlimited banquet set Denham Springs weightlifter Darlene Denstorff AROUND LIVINGSTON
Tickets are on sale for the Livingston Parish Ducks Unlimited Banquet Aug. 29 at Bass Pro Shops. Tickets are $50 for one person, $80 for a couple, $600 for a table and $1,250 for a VIP table. For tickets, visit LPDU.org. For more information, call Mason Dugas at (225) 921-8887.
Walker’s gas safety survey underway Walker leaders are asking resident to take part in its Gas Safety Survey.
The survey is a federal safety regulation, which judges the effectiveness of the city’s safety programs. The city asks that customers and noncustomers take the survey because “everyone on and around our pipeline needs to be aware of natural gas safety for their well-being.” To take part, visit .blueottersolutions. com/walker2024.
ä See AROUND, page 2G
brings talents to national stage Charles Salzer SPORTS ROUNDUP
Going six for six, no matter what sport you are talking about, pretty much always means you’ve done something awesome. That was certainly the case for Denham Springs weightlifter Brynn Catalano earlier this summer when she competed at the USA National Youth Cham-
pionships in Pittsburgh. A 116-pound 14-year-old who has been competing in Olympic weightlifting events for five years, Catalano pulled off the weightlifting hat trick in Pittsburgh earning her a national championship, a gold medal and
ä See SALZER, page 2G