The community of Hammond gathered together in Downtown Hammond for the 21st Annual Hot August Night.
Vendors and artists from all over Hammond as well as businesses in downtown Hammond sold food and art, hosted wine tastings and provided live music on Friday, Aug. 26.
“I think that this was a really positive event,” said Chelsea Tallo, executive director of the Hammond Downtown Development District. “We didn’t wanna stop Hot August Night because of the flood. I think it’s not the crowd that we normally get for Hot August Night, because of the jamboree and the flood. But, everyone that came had a good time and it was something that we needed to do.”
Hot August Night was originally planned for Friday, Aug. 12, but had to be moved to a later date due to flooding in Tangipahoa Parish and Baton Rouge area. This event and the past two weeks have been a testament to the perseverance of the city.
“I think that it’s a really great release for people that have experienced a lot,” said Hayley Taff, CEO of Central Rexall Drugs. “In Louisiana we like to balance work and life. This is a great way to live life. Even though it’s stressful, we can bear it because we got good things to look forward to.”
The community was able to enjoy events like the Wine Walk and Art Alley while also listening to live music by bands including Will Vance and the Kinfolk, Casey Saba & The Beanstalks and Forgetting Last Friday. Hammond Regional Arts Center continued their display of the works of Bill Hemmerling. Hammond High and St. Thomas Aquinas had their High School Hype Up at Cate Street Park.
Lionpawlooza, a pep rally that university athletics does every year, was not as big as it usually is each year for Hot August Night.
“Because we had to move the date back it was really hard for Southeastern to get all of their athletes together once school started,” said Tallo. “They still had Roomie and the cheerleading team. They had a couple of tables over by La Carreta keeping Southeastern in it. Lionpawlooza is a big part of Hot August Night but because of the date they were not able to do all that they wanted to do.”
Despite not having Lionpawlooza, students still enjoyed everything that Hot August Night had to offer this year.
“I love Hot August Night,” said Lindsay Grace, a senior marketing major. “I’m actually a senior and have been here every year. I like all of the vendors and the music. It’s a really nice atmosphere.”
The vendors not only get to sell their merchandise, but also get to interact with their community and enjoy the atmosphere of Hot August Night.
“This is my first time here, and I think it’s great,” said Sean Nuzzolillo, a vendor at Hot August Night. “It’s nice to be outside and listen to the live band and participate in the event.”
Vendors like Artful Happiness gave their proceeds to the flood relief effort through an inspiring T-shirt design. The shirt has the state shape with writing across it saying ‘come hell or high water, we are Louisiana strong.’
“It started out as just some artwork online,” said Amanda Hammonds, a Center for Student Excellence academic advisor and graphic designer for Artful Happiness. “It got shared a whole bunch of times, so a lot of people were asking if we would turn it into a shirt. We sell them online, and we have some of them here and all proceeds are going to organizations to benefit flood victims.”
Hot August Night has been a Hammond event for 21 years and has been about the community coming together.
“It started with just maybe five to ten businesses saying let’s do something for downtown,” said Tallo. “They stayed open and served wine that’s how the wine tasting started. Hot August was just a small wine tasting, and then every year it kept getting bigger and bigger. It’s really important to the community. It has grew into something that the community takes pride in.”
One of those businesses that was in the first Hot August Night was Central Rexall Drugs, which is one of the oldest businesses in Hammond.
“We are involved in everything in Hammond,” said Taff. “We really enjoy working with the community. We have been here for 120 years, so the community is our lifeblood.”
No matter what happens, Hot August Night is an event that the community is determined to have each year.
“Despite the crowds, despite the floods, despite what we could not hold tonight, we are just happy that we could have it for Tangipahoa people,” said Tallo.