Do you still have Christmas shopping to do?  Are you looking for a way to celebrate the Christmas season?  Here is a list of some of the Christmas events happening in Hammond in December:

Fine and Functional Crafts 4 - Hammond Regional Arts Center (217 E Thomas St), December 10 1pm to 5pm, December 11 11am to 3pm, December 17 1pm to 5pm, December 18 11am to 3pm.  Get your holiday shopping completed here!

Hammond Ballet Company Presents "The Nutcracker" - Columbia Theatre For Performing Arts (220 E Thomas St), December 10 and 11 7pm.  Watch this classic Christmas ballet performed live before you.  Tickets are $25 for the Orchestra, $30 for Loge seating and $20 in the Balcony.  Visit the Hammond Ballet Company's website to purchase tickets.

Louisiana Renaissance Festival - 46468 River Rd, December 11 and 12, 9:30am to 5pm.  While not a Christmas event, this is the last weekend for the annual LA Ren-Fest.  There will be fine live entertainment, food and demonstrations going on throughout the day.  Watch the fireworks show after sundown on Saturday and Sunday.  Visit the LA Ren-Fest website to purchase your tickets today.

There are several Christmas events happening in Hammond throughout December.  Those listed above are just a few that you may not want to miss.  Remember, if you're looking to celebrate your Christmas in a new Hammond home, please contact us and we'll be happy to help.  Happy holidays, everyone!

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

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

With so many different homes available on the Hammond real estate market, now is the time to dip your toes into the homeowner pool with a "fixer upper".  If you don't mind buying a "diamond in the rough", you may want to consider the FHA program that offers help to buy a home to rehab.  The FHA (203) Rehab Program was created to help clean up the rundown homes in a neighborhood while helping homebuyers afford to do so.

Through a conventional home loan, the property must be worth at least what the loan amount is in order to be approved.  However, when it comes to a home that needs a bit of work, oftentimes, the property isn't worth that much.  This causes the homebuyer to have to secure financing through other means in order to pay for repairs or other construction work needed to fix up their home.  These loans tend to be for shorter terms and higher interest rates, decreasing the chances that a buyer can purchase the fixer-upper to begin with.

Through the FHA (203) program, a Hammond homebuyer is able to purchase the home as well as secure financing for repairs and construction in one mortgage loan, with one payment and the lowest interest rates they qualify for.  This works out as a win-win for the local housing market, since the properties that were previously considered eyesores can now be bought up by homeowners willing to put the work into them to make them better and more homebuyers are now able to afford their own Hammond home.

To qualify for the FHA (203) Rehab Program, the home in question:

• Can't be larger than a four-family multiplex (single-family, duplex, triplex or quad will qualify)
• Must have been completely finished from initial construction within the last year (no newly constructed homes allowed)
• At least have part of the original foundation left in place on the property (if the rest of the home has been completely demolished)

If you want to purchase a Tangipahoa home, are willing to put a bit of elbow grease into fixing it up and want to have the cost of the mortgage and repairs/remodeling in one payment, this FHA program offers help for buyers who want to purchase a home to rehab.  Contact me today so I can help you find the perfect Hammond home for you!

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

Want to celebrate Halloween and help make a difference?  Go to the Lakeview Regional Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine facility (19055 Kane Lane) on Saturday, October 30th, 2010 from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm for "Boo Fest".  The Covington"Boo Fest" helps Northshore Families Helping Families charity.  The "Boo Fest" is the first fundraiser of its type to help benefit the local Hammond area charity, who helps children with disabilities as well as their families.

At the event, kids can enjoy trick-or-treating, so make sure to dress up!  There will be gruesome games, freakish fun and eerie eats for everyone to enjoy.  A Jambalaya Cook-Off is scheduled as well.  Donations will be accepted at the event, so feel free to give as well as receive.

Sponsors of the Covington "Boo Fest" include:

North Oaks Health System
Fidelity Homestead
Hancock Bank
Tangipahoa Tourism
Burns Estate Planning, LLC
Southeastern Lousiana University
First Guaranty Bank
Louisiana Federal Credit Union
Specialty LTCH Hospital in Hammond
Walmart
Emery & James, LTD Gohres Insurance
Charter Business
Regions Bank

If you want something different to do for Halloween as well as a great, fun way to help a wonderful charity, consider Covington's "Boo Fest", which helps Northshore Families Helping Families.  Food, fun, candy and goodwill...that's part of what makes Tangipahoa Parish and St Tammany Parish such great places to live!

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

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

The 15th Annual Hot August Night in Hammond takes place this Friday, August 20, 2010 in the downtown area from 6-10pm.  Hot August Night is meant to be a fun way to beat the summer heat.  There is something for everyone here.  There will be an art stroll, wine tasting at several shops, restaurants and offices and super deals at different downtown Hammond boutiques and shops that are going on only during the Hot August Nights event.  The schedule of some of the evening's fun includes:

• Autograph Session With Saints Football Player - 6pm, Chuck's Field of Dreams.
• "Lil Bill" Hurricane Reconnaissance Aircraft- 6pm, Louisiana Children's Discovery Center.  See aircraft from the Air National Guard, TJ the DJ and Hammond Fire Department's"Pluggie".
• SLU Community Music School Violins Demonstration - 6-8pm, Hammond Regional Art Center.  Includes fall art school demo.
• Hammond's Hottest Talent- 7:30pm, La Carreta Band Stage.  Four finalists will compete for the Hammond's Hottest Talent title and a $1000 grand prize.
• Beach Blanket Bingo Screening- 8pm, Columbia Theatre.  For $7 per person, enjoy a special screening of this classic 1965 movie starring Frankie Avalon and Annette Funicello.
• True Too Life Concert- 8:30pm, La Carreta Band Stage.
• Vintage Fashion Show - 8:30pm, Vintage 106.

In addition to the live music taking place on the LaCarreta Band Stage, there will be musical performances by Detective Fish at Tommy's on Thomas, Biscuithound at Discovery Furniture & Finds, Kevin Schexnayder at PJ's Coffee & Tea Co, New Orleans Strathspey & Reel Society at Keith Davis and AMP'D Brass Band at Vintage 106.

A few other things you should check out are the free lemonade samples given out by KSLU 90.9 FM at PJ's Coffee & Tea Co, Boy Scout Troop 316 offering snowballs for sale near Change Clothes, fresh produce, gifts and much more for sale by various Hammond vendors on the lawn behind La Carreta and tea and lemonade being sold by the Main Street Dance Studio next to Bayou Booksellers.

Enjoy Hot August Night in Hammond this Friday, August 20, 2010.  You'll have a great time, interact with your neighbors and support local Hammond businesses.  How can you go wrong?

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

Hammond is helping birds harmed by the gulf oil spill by opening its Oiled Wildlife Rehabilitation Center in the old 84 Lumber building (84 Pride Dr, Hammond).  It may seem odd to have a bird rescue center located away from the action, so to speak, but its location near the airport and away from possible hurricane zones makes it the perfect place to help clean off and nurse gull, pelicans, egrets and other birds affected by the BP oil spill.

The old 84 Lumber building was chosen because the seven acre property allowed for expansion, if needed.  Also, its location so close to the Hammond Northshore Regional Airport but away from the possible distraction of city noise made it the perfect place for these traumatized birds to recover.  The former special order bays have now been turned into exam rooms, the warehouse houses the intensive care tents for the birds that are seriously injured and cages are set up around the exterior of the building for the birds that have been cleaned and are waiting to be sent on to their next home.

Right now, the rescue center is treating just over 500 birds.  However, it is equipped to help up to 3,000, if necessary.  This is only a small portion of the 1643 live and 3271 dead birds found and collected by rescue workers since the oil spill began.  Most of these birds have come from Louisiana.

When birds are covered with oil, they have trouble cleaning themselves.  If they can't clean themselves, the stress causes them to quit eating or drinking which then leads to dehydration, exhaustion and eventual death.  Hypothermia can set in because the oil makes it hard for their internal body temperature to regulate.

If you're interested in finding out how you can help, please visit the International Bird Rescue Research Center website.  I'm happy that Hammond helps birds harmed by the gulf oil spill.  It shows what a wonderful, helpful community Hammond is.

Yvonne Martin, The Martin Team for Hammond Real Estate

You can save money and the environment by conserving electricity.  Here are four easy ways to start conserving electricity and saving yourself money today:

1. Don't just turn off; unplug.  Just because an appliance or device is turned off, doesn't mean it isn't using electricity.  Devices that are plugged into an electrical outlet are responsible for approximately 5-10% of your monthly electrical usage.  When you are not using your hair dryer, toaster, cell phone charger, etc., turn them off and then unplug them until you use them again.
2. Replace incandescent bulbs with CFLs.  Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) lasts 10 times as long as regular incandescent light bulbs, use about 75% less electricity, can save $30 over the lifetime of the bulb and ends up paying for itself within six months.
3. Energy Star.  While the Energy Star appliances may be a little pricier up front, over time, they actually save you money thanks to their efficient use of electricity.  An Energy Star appliance uses 10-50% less electricity than standard appliances and they help reduce air pollutants and emissions.  Also, many utility companies as well as government agencies offer rebates when you purchase a new Energy Star appliance to replace an old, outdated appliance.  Check with the salesperson and your local utility company for more info.
4. Daytime use.  If your house is empty during the day, you should set your thermostat higher (like 85 F).  Set your programmable thermostat to go off approximately 30 minutes before you typically get home so that the house will be cooled off before you get there.  If you are home during the day, you may want to open all the windows as soon as possible to help cool off the interior of your house naturally.

By following these simple rules, you can save money and the environment by conserving electricity.  Do your part for the environment and your pocketbook. 

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