Behold the leg lamp, 40 inches of fringed shade, fishnet thigh and black stiletto. A Red Ryder BB gun lies at the base in a halo of electric sex. Then there are boxes of kazoos, "Ralphie" action figures, even "A Christmas Story" lunch boxes inspired by the 1983 movie. A hometown tribute to Hammond native Jean Shepherd was overdue, said Amy Stocky, 35, busy sorting raffle prizes. Welcome to Shep Central, aka Stocky's living room, command post for the First Jean Shepherd Festival. Shepfest runs from 1 to 8 p.m. Saturday at the writer's namesake community center, 3031 Mahoney Drive. Proceeds go toward a permanent exhibit and archive. Amy, a freelance writer, and husband Shane, a self-employed novelty-button maker, have spent nearly two years lining up guest speakers, vendors and memorabilia for the event. The hometown boy, best known for writing and narrating "Christmas Story," died at 78 in 1999. Like many "region rats" -- including Shepherd -- Calumet City native Stocky left her blue-collar roots to see the world. She traveled, studied at Columbia College, and married. And then she returned, to Hammond. As time passes, "all the things you don't like in a place start to attract you" she said. She and Shane, 35, bought a two-flat between a tavern and bait shop on Hohman Avenue in 2002. It was a very Shep-esque set-up, and Amy, weaned on the humorist's TV specials, took her husband to see oft-mentioned landmarks. These include the writer's boyhood home at 2907 Cleveland St. and his grade school, Warren G. Harding Elementary. But the lack of markers -- or a permanent exhibit -- made Stocky indignant. Light bulb over the head. "I thought, 'Jeez, how is it that Mark Twain has museums devoted to him in two cities -- one in his childhood home in Hannibal, Mo., the other is Connecticut -- and Shepherd has nothing?'" she said. The couple have since invested $10,000 of their own money and thousands of hours to give the local hero his due. Shepherd zealots and the Hammond Historical Society joined the grassroots effort and donations began to trickle in. Donors include Inland Steel (where Shep once worked), Playboy (ditto) and the Harding School PTA. On Thursday, Stocky was still fine-tuning an itinerary for the fest, a cross between a fun fair and filmfest. She recently dreamt driving the writer to a pre-fest interview "and he couldn't stop laughing," the Shepfest founder said. "He chuckled all the way. It must be an omen."