Tourism Authority Pays Homage to Iconic Film

To a kid from Jersey, it was a dream come true - a $40,000 bronze statue of himself as Flick, the kid made famous by getting his tongue stuck on a flagpole in the now cult classic holiday movie, “A Christmas Story.”

Scott Schwartz, the actor who played Flick, was front and center at a press conference at the Indiana Welcome Center in Hammond Tuesday, opening a large wooden crate that hid the statue. The work of art is now a permanent fixture at the center, home of the South Shore Convention and Visitors Authority.

The South Shore CVA wanted to do something special for our 30th anniversary, as well as the 30th anniversary of the holiday classic, ‘A Christmas Story,’” Speros Batistatos, president and CEO of the SSCVA told those assembled Tuesday. “In honor of Jean Shepherd and the movie, the iconic ‘Triple Dog Dare’ scene is now immortalized on one of the Indiana Welcome Center’s flagpoles.”

To a kid from Jersey, it’s a blessing,” said Schwartz, who was 14 when “A Christmas Story” was filmed. “How do you describe it? It’s so surreal. I mean, of the 300 million people in the United States, I’m in bronze here for people to come and hang out with.”

Shepherd, a Hammond native, co-wrote and narrated the film, which took place in the fictional town of Hohman, Indiana (named after Hammond’s main street, Hohman Avenue.)

The SSCVA commissioned the statue nearly two years ago. It was created in partnership with Warner Bros. Consumer Products by Timeless Creations – The Studio of Rotblatt-Amrany, which also created the Orville Redenbacher statue in Valparaiso’s Central Park, as well as statues of Michael Jordan, Frank Thomas, and Harry Caray, in Chicago.

The real Flick’s daughter and grandson, Jean and Zachary Howell, were also on hand for the unveiling.

I’m amazed at the statue,” said Howell, of Delphi, Indiana. “I’m impressed by the attraction.” Howell added, however, that she couldn’t get over the fact that her father, “always grumbled that he was being made fun of,” in the movie.

Doug Van Ramshorst, of Highland, brought his five-week old son Henry, a future fourth generation fan of “a Christmas Story,” to the unveiling. “I’m excited,” Ramshorst said. “I grew up in the region, moved to Chicago and came back to raise a family. We’ve got our “Christmas Story” DVD and it’s always on at family gatherings.”

The center houses the annual exhibit, “A Christmas Story” Comes Home, which runs from November 9 through January 5. A newly commissioned window for the exhibit will be unveiled Thursday, Batistatos said. The center, located at 7770 Corinne Drive, is open from 8 am to 5 pm, seven days a week.

Tuesday’s unveiling was the first in a series of special events planned for the SSCVA’s 30th anniversary.

For more information, contact Bethany Randolph, special events and services manager, at 219-554-2229 or visit www.achristmasstorycomeshome.com.

Click here to view more photos from the unveiling!