National Cereal Festival returns to downtown Battle Creek June 10
BATTLE CREEK — The National Cereal Festival — Battle Creek's signature summer event celebrating its heritage as the birthplace of the cereal industry — returns downtown next month.
The family-friendly festival features a variety of entertainment including live music, children's activities and inflatables — not to mention free breakfast. Sponsors include Kellogg's, Post Consumer Brands, Kellogg Community College, Prairie Farms, Battle Creek Honda and the Calhoun County Visitors Bureau, among others.
Festivities kick off June 9 with the Grand Cereal Parade at 6:30 p.m. The parade starts at the Kool Family Center and travels down VanBuren Street to McCamly Street, and then on McCamly to Hamblin Avenue.
In conjunction with the festival, the Battle Creek YMCA will host the Cereal City Classic 5K/10K, beginning at 7:45 a.m. June 10.
The festival first took place in 1956 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the founding of Kellogg Co. The event was held four times between 1958 and 1962 before Battle Creek made it an annual celebration beginning in 1976.
Officials canceled the festival in 2009, but local business owners and volunteers stepped in that year to continue a streak that lasted until 2019. The 2020 and 2021 festivals were postponed due to COVID-19.
For more information or to volunteer, visit kelloggarena.com or call 269-963-4800.
Contact reporter Greyson Steele at gsteele@battlecreekenquirer.com
This article originally appeared on Battle Creek Enquirer: National Cereal Festival returns to downtown Battle Creek June 10
