Raven Price, Terri’ance Johnson, Kalee Broussard and Jarred Marlett stand in horror as Delia, the wife, possibly resurrects from the dead. The short play, titled “The Secret,” was written by Gabrielle LeBlanc, was directed by KT Tuner and stage managed by Betty Pharr. The play was one of several short plays that lasted about 10 minutes, each covering one of the “7 Legends of Louisiana.”

The Lion’s Roar / Megan Ferrando

This past weekend the annual Hammond Horror Festival welcomed in Halloween with a bang. Hammond Horror Fest was made up of three days of Halloween Horror and festivities, which took place around various locations of Hammond.

Thursday night was the Freaky Film Night, where Halloween lovers came together to watch the classic 90s film “Casper.” 

Saturday night was the Macabre Masquerade Ball. Locals and Southeastern students gathered in the Hammond Regional Art Center to have a night of dancing and entertainment. The ball began at 7:00 p.m., but the fun really kicked off around 8:00 p.m. with the costume contest. Five designers created Louisiana legend inspired costumes to show off for judges at the ball. 

After the costume contest, came the La La Tribal Belly Dancers. The group of five dancers have participated in this event for four years and say that it keeps getting better and better.  

“I think it’s a really great event,” said Kaela Sanchez, a member of the dance group. “It’s certainly grown over the past five years. I think this is the fifth year. It has gotten bigger and bigger. Its fun.”   

The group does a mix of belly dancing and tribal inspired dance. Their piece for the Macabre Masquerade Ball began with the song Iko, a commonly known New Orleans Mardi Gras song. 

“We choreographed this as a troupe, the opening number was the song Iko, which was choreographed by Stephanie Fredrickson of Moon Horror,” said member of the La La Tribal Belly Dance, April Stovall. “The rest on the other two songs, we choreographed and we’ve been working on for about two months now.”

After the La La Tribal Belly Dance performance, the disk jockey turned up the music for attendees to dance the rest of the night away. 

Ashton Sandberg, a Hammond local, and her husband attended the ball for the first time this year and said that the event was great and they enjoyed getting dressed up. 

“We’re just hoping for some more ball room dancing music,” said Sandberg. 

Daphne Hebert, the co-chair of the festival, says that she always looks forward to the performances. 

“My favorite part is always the performances. La La Tribal does a great job for us every year. They’ve been with us since the beginning of the ball,” said Hebert. “And then the fashion show has evolved over the years. The first year it was just all comers would design a costume, put it on display and at this point, four years into it, its actually turned into a themed competition every year.”

All of the proceeds for the Macabre Masquerade Ball went to Relay for Life, a well-known charity that raises money for those battling cancer. 

Saturday night was the 24-hour theatre show, which is produced by the Southeastern chapter of Alpha Psi Omega, a national theatre honor society. The theatre show tests the talent, creativity and quickness of actors, actresses and writers. Writers were sent a specific topic at 8:00 p.m. Friday night and were allowed to write scripts only until 3:00 a.m. Four hours later, the directors and actors of the teams came in to practice for their performance, which took place 8:00 p.m. Saturday night. 

“It definitely takes hard work and creativity. Everyone loves the pressure and creative outlet. The show is something the members of APO look forward to all year round,” said APO president, Emily Nodine. 

The Hammond Horror Fest raised money for Relay for Life by donating a portion of the proceeds.  

“Last year the Hammond Horror Fest collectively gave $600,” said Nodine. 

This local festival comes every year in October, in time for Halloween and Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Next year, catch a list of all the events by visiting the Hammond Horror Fest website.

Ladies from the La La Tribal Dance performance entertained guests before the anticipated costume contest. The La La Tribal Dance have been part of the Hammond Horror Fest for years.
The Lion’s Roar / Kaitlyn Johnson
 

Richard and Ashton Sandberg dress up to attend the Hammond Horror Fest for the first time. The couple took the floor eagerly to dance the night away. Richard Sandberg is currently a pastor at First Baptist Church in Springfield.
The Lion’s Roar / Megan Ferrando