Breakfast Cereal and Dinner Theater – Battle Creek MI area (September 16 – 17, 2026)

 

You may already know the story of cereal manufacturing in Battle Creek, Michigan.  Dr. John Harvey Kellogg, a member of the Battle Creek Seventh Day Adventist community, ran the prestigious Battle Creek Sanitarium, promoting a vegetarian diet, fresh air, and exercise.  He tinkered with developing healthy, vegetable and whole grain-based foods to serve at the San.  One day, left over corn porridge dried and flaked, generating the predecessor to what we know as corn flakes today.  Dr. Kellogg and his brother, WK Kellogg figured out how to manufacture corn flakes and other breakfast cereal.

 

Meanwhile CK Post, inspired by his stay at the San, experimented in his barn at home to create a cereal-based beverage, Post-ums  He went on to found the cereal company we know as Post.

 

Both the Kellogg’s and Post companies have factories in town.  It is said that you can smell and identify which cereal they are cooking that day.  While we could not identify the particular cereal, it certainly did smell like breakfast!

 

Part of the Visitors Center Exhibit

Sadly, neither factory is open for factory tours.  There is a small exhibit area in the city visitors center about the history of cereal production in Battle Creek, and cereal brand mascots.

 

The Underground Railroad

Back in the day, Battle Creek was a stop on the Underground Railroad.  During the 1840s and 1850s, Erastus and Sarah Hussey helped more than 1,000 slaves find safety in the North.  This important contribution is commemorated by a lovely statue depicting episodes these brave people might encounter during their dangerous trek to freedom.  Also depicted is Harriet Tubman, known as the “Black Moses” to honor her importance in the railroad, even though she never came to Battle Creek.

 

Sojourner Truth

Important and well-known former slave, and abolitionist and women’s rights activist, Sojourner Truth lived in Battle Creek for the last 27 years of her life.  She is represented by a beautiful 12-foot statue in the town’s Monument Square.

 

WK Kellogg Foundation

In addition to manufacturing, Battle Creek is home to the WK Kellogg Foundation that funds groups that support education, children and families.  They have a large headquarters downtown.  WK Kellogg’s home was moved to the foundation campus where it is used for special events.

 

WK Kellogg Home

We camped in nearby Marshall MI at CampTurkeyville, part of the Turkeyville Restaurant and Dinner Theater complex.  We attended a matinee of “A Walk with Patsy Cline”, a retrospective of the music of country music legend, Patsy Cline, whose life was tragically cut short by an airplane crash.  If you guesed that we would eat a delicious Thanksgiving dinner at Turkeyville, you would be right.  They carved the turkey off of a ginormous bird.  The show was pretty great, too.  It had 2 actors and a 5-piece band.

 

Where Did We Stay?

 

CampTurkeyville is a large, newish, incredibly clean campground behind the Turkeyville restaurant and dinner theater.  You can walk to the restaurant for a reasonably priced turkey sandwich or turkey dinner, or you can order dinner online and take it back to your camper.  They have an ice cream parlor with home made ice cream.  The huge gift shop has frozen turkey meals.  We bought their chili ($7.99) and shephards pie ($9.99) to put in our motor home freezer to eat later along our trip.  CampTurkeyville is a 10 mintue drive to the town of Marshall where you can find groceries, a dog groomer, etc, and 20 minutes from Battle Creek.