The Jean Shepherd Community Center in Hammond Indiana

The Jean Shepherd Community Center in Hammond, Indiana is named after the writer and radio personality Jean Parker. She was born in 1921 and grew up in the Hessville neighborhood. The fictional town of Hohman is based on her hometown. The center's Christmas Story festival usually draws between three and five thousand people in a typical year, but attendance was down by about two-thirds due to the pandemic. In 2005, an entrepreneur purchased her house, which she converted into a museum. She also had a gift shop filled with artifacts from the Christmas Story.

The Jean Shepherd Community Center has two full-sized basketball courts, a volleyball court, and a running track around the outside. The entire facility is more than 30,000 square feet, which is enough room for more than 200 people. There is a Jean Shepherd holiday kick-off festival every November. In addition to hosting the event, the community center hosts a holiday kickoff festival in November. The American Red Cross hopes to raise funds for a blood donation drive for CJ Moreno, a three-year-old who loves sports and enjoys basketball and soccer. He will need a bone marrow transplant and may need more blood transfusions in the future.

The Jean Shepherd Community Center in Hammond, Indiana has a unique story-telling history. It is named after the author of the book, "Hohman," referring to Hammond's main street. Although Jean Shepherd had no connection with her hometown, she has created a legacy in the city by establishing the Jean's Community Center in Dowling Park. In November, the community holds a Holiday Kickoff Festival to honor the writer. The community center also features a mural of a young boy with his first kiss in a Christmas story.

The Jean Shepherd Community Center in Hammond was named in honor of the author of the "A Christmas Story" movie. The author, who was a Hammond native, was named a teen for her accomplishments. She received the Hammond Achievement Award in 1981. She was named after a local family. The International Platform Association also gave her a Mark Twain American Humor award in 1976.

The center also holds Latino Resource Fair. The movie is sponsored by the Indiana Civil Rights Commission, the Alliance for American Manufacturing, Horizon Bank, and the Regional Federal Credit Union. Other organizations have sponsored the event. The Jean Shepherd Community Center will provide a free health screening, fingerprinting, and legal assistance for the homeless in the Hammond area. It will be open to the public on Saturday, April 27.

Another wonderful Hammond facility for active play and exercise is the Wolf Lake Aquatic Play Center.