DENHAM SPRINGS • LIVINGSTON • WALKER • WATSON • AMITE • HAMMOND
ADVOCATE THE LIVINGSTON -TANGIPAHOA
T H E A D V O C AT E.C O M
Darlene Denstorff AROUND LIVINGSTON
Denham SpringsWalker library hosts events It’s always busy at the Livingston Parish Library’s Denham Springs-Walker Branch. For more information, call (225) 686-4140 or visit www. mylpl.info. Check out these events: Thursday, March 5, 3 p.m., Clothespin Rocker (ages 18+): This tiny rocking chair from clothespins will charm your spring flowers into blooming. Join the library staff to make your own desk-top planter. Registration is required. Thursday, March 5, 6 p.m., No-Sew Bunnies (ages 8-12): Can’t sew, no problem. Learn how to make a no-sew bunny during this library program. Registration is required. Saturday, March 7, 10, a.m., Craft & Go Saturday (all Ages): Kickstart your creativity for the month ahead by joining us on the first Saturday of every month for a fun, hands-on craft. Whether you’re a kid or an adult, the library has something for everyone. Each month features a new project, and the library has all the supplies you need, so you can just drop in anytime between 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., craft, and go. Wednesday, March 11, 2 p.m., Seaux Easy (ages 18+): Whether you’re an experienced needleworker or just want to learn to sew, you’ll enjoy the fun projects made at the library’s sewing club. All participants provide their own supplies. Registration is required for new attendees.
Food Truck Festival March 28 Denham Springs Main Street Association is hosting another Food Truck Festival from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, March 28 on Mattie Street in the Denham Springs Historic Downtown District. Serving up food and treats for the event are a variety of food trucks and vendors. For more information, email info@ denhamspringsmainstreet. org, bontempstix.com, or check out the Facebook page at @ Facebook.com/DenhamSpringsMainStreet.
Casting for a Cause planned A bass fishing tournament benefiting Child Advocacy Services is set for March 7 at Boopalous Bar and Grill in Springfield. The East Livingston Kiwanis’ inaugural Casting for a Cause starts at 7 a.m. and goes until 2 p.m. The tournament starts at day break and ends at 2:30 p.m. Entry fee is $125 per team.
Boil & Berries Crawfish Cook-off in Springfield Boil & Berries Crawfish Cook-Off Fundraiser coming to Springfield from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. April 18 at Fayard Field. Bracelets for the event are $20 for adults and $10 for children. Kids 3 and under are free. You’ll get to sample from all the crawfish pots and strawberry desserts. The day includes crawfish cook-off, strawberry dessert bake-off, strawberry patch contest, Hungarian treats and cultural performances, strawberry-eating contest for kids, music, vendors and inflatables. Fayard Field is at 32127 Church St., Springfield. All proceeds benefit the Árpádhon Hungarian Settlement
ä See AROUND, page 2G
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W e d n e s d ay, M a r c h 4, 2026
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Reimer’s Auditorium new director plans for future, honors the past BY RICHARD MEEK Contributing writer
Nestled in the hub of a historic downtown area, Reimer’s Auditorium has been the cultural soul of the Hammond community for threequarters of a century. From monthly jam sessions to theatrical productions or just simply a community gathering place, Reimers has been a popular venue for performers and audiences, a place where the arts are celebrated. For new director Callie Hines, her role is the delicate balancing of planning for the future while honoring the past. “I want to make sure the stages highlight the talent we have in Hammond, in Tangipahoa Parish,” she said. “Having a place for our local folks to be able to share what they are already doing but that is accessible and affordable.” Six months into her 10-houra-week job, Hines, a Buras native who moved to Hammond fulltime five years ago, said the learning curve has been significant, asking “What haven’t I learned?” But she eagerly embraces her role as the liaison between the community and the space she is managing, with a rich history serving as a backdrop. “What I have learned about the community is we need more spaces for artists to present their own music, their original works and not music that they are good at covering,” she said. “And continuing to make connections and bring things to the space that people are wanting and needed in this area.” There are many places we can go and do three hours’ worth of cover songs and that’s great, it’s entertaining and it’s fun but what’s also great, entertaining and fun is music that people play, plays that people write and presen-
PHOTO BY RICHARD MEEK
Reimer’s Auditorium can host concerts, plays and even monthly jam sessions, where all musicians are invited to play. tations people spend their entire lives researching.” She said working at Reimer’s has taught her that in the past Hammond has been a celebrator of the arts in total, a staple in the artistic community for 75 yeas. “I hear people all of the time tell me some of their best memories were made in that space and the (adjourning) fellowship hall,” she said. “Dances were held in the past, and it has been home to many workshops, fundraisers and gathering events.” She cited the monthly jam sessions, which on a recent Tuesday night five bands showed up and were able to play at lease a couple of songs and also joined in with collaborative performances, as the essence of the of music community. “If somebody wants to get
PROVIDED PHOTO
Reimers Auditorium has been at the center of the Hammond cultural scene for 75 years. up there with them the band lets them play,” Hines said. “The whole spirit is creating community and having a
place to play and where other artists can meet each other.”
ä See REIMER’S, page 2G
Who’s left in ‘A real-life Cinderella story’ the basketball Retro diner food truck to get first location in Walker
BY CLAIRE GRUNEWALD Staff writer
The pink food truck parked in Albany, known for its retro dinerinspired look and menu items, has found a permanent home in another part of Livingston Parish. Natalie Moore, owner of Moore to Love food truck, said her first brick‑and‑mortar diner is officially coming to Walker ä More in mid-April. The permanent photos. location is 9993 PAGE 2G Florida Blvd. The food truck will also be at this location while the building goes through renovations to achieve the business’s signature look, Moore said. Moor said securing the location “truly feels like a real‑life Cinderella story.” Moore, of Albany, worked in the cafeteria and as a custodian at Holden School for years while she sold baked goods at markets on the side. After seeing success at the markets, Moore left the school system and began operating the food truck with her husband, Caleb, in May 2024 with the goal of one day owning her own restaurant. “(Owning a physical location) was the main goal, but the food truck was the easiest way to get my foot in the door,” Moore said. Running the bright pink truck
STAFF PHOTO BY JAVIER GALLEGOS
Owner Natalie Moore finishes a customer’s order as her daughter, Kenzie, takes a different customer’s order at Moore to Love food truck. The restaurant will soon get its first brick-and-mortar location in Walker. for Moore and her family has been “very rewarding,” and she has been able to serve the community. The food truck serves classic diner eats, such as milkshakes, smash burgers and Italian sodas with monikers such as “Elvis Blue Hawaiian Colada” and “The Pink Lady.” Moore comes up with the food and drink recipes and Caleb smokes the barbecue. Their daughter, Kenzie,
also takes customers’ orders. The physical diner will encapsulate the same retro look and menu items as the truck. “People love the diner thing, that’s special to me and my husband. We are old souls at heart,” she said. “That diner feel just brings you back to happy moments.” The truck will continue serving food at its Albany location, 28585 La. 43, until Friday.
playoffs?
Although many teams were already playing do-or-die games at the end of the regular season, high school basketball has shifted completely into post-season mode with the beginning of the LHSAA’s boys playoffs. The postseason fun began last week with the girls playoffs, Charles which begins a Salzer finishing kick SPORTS this week with ROUNDUP its Marsh Madness championship event held at SLU’s University Center in Hammond. Livingston Parish had eight teams make the girls playoffs, but its remaining championship hopes will rest on the shoulders of French Settlement, the No. 1 seed in Division III nonselect. The Lions girls have performed as expected winning their regional and quarterfinal games by an average margin of 34 points. The Lions state tournament berth is their first in six years, and their semifinal opponent? They will take on No. 5 Ville Platte, a team that feasted on parish teams in the early rounds.
ä See SALZER, page 2G