Editor's note: This story is part of Southwest Michigan Second Wave's On the Ground Battle Creek series.

Buying local will go hyper-local on December 7 when vendors and crafters gather inside a building at 32 West Michigan Avenue for the inaugural Holiday Vendor Pop-Up event.
 
Sponsored by the Battle Creek Community Foundation which has its headquarters in the building, the holiday-inspired Pop-Up will feature pottery created by local artists; crazy-large slices of cheesecake from Thickums Sweets; Cereal City Candles; chocolate creations by Ciao Bella Chocolat; paintings by local artists; lampwork; and beaded embroidery.
 
In addition, the Kingman Museum will have staff on hand to educate those who attend about their displays at The Milton, says Lori Olsen, Manager of 32 Enterprises, which operates under the auspices of BCCF.
 
Olsen says the vendors who will be participating have worked with her before at other pop-up events and also sell their creations at her store, Aspidistra Naturals Apothecary and Gifts, which operates out of 32 West Michigan.
 
“They need as many places as possible to showcase their work,” Olsen says. “We’re not charging them anything for being here. We just want to promote local artists and vendors as much as possible.”
 
The Holiday Pop-Up will run from 3-7 p.m. The public is invited and encouraged to attend to check out the work of local artisans and support them.
 
Many vendors have been featured in stories done published in On the Ground Battle Creek which celebrates its 5th  Anniversary this year. Since its inception, the online solutions-based journalism publication has shined a bright light on the people, places, and events that make Battle Creek and Calhoun County a place many call home.
 
Theresa Coty O’Neil, Managing Editor of Southwest Michigan Second Wave which publishes OTG,  Jane Parikh, OTG Project Editor, and John Grap, OTG Photographer, will be at the Pop-Up from 5-7 p.m. to showcase some of the over 400 stories published in the last five years.
 
“We will be there to listen and learn,” Coty O’Neil says. “Our readership has grown significantly and that growth is tied directly to the story ideas members of the community have given us. Residents share with us to what matters most to them, we listen, and those are the stories that we share with readers — ones we only learn about by being truly local and 'on the ground.'”
 
Coty O’Neil and Parikh will be collecting story ideas and feedback, as well as sharing some of On the Ground's most-read stories of the past five years. They also will be passing out a bit of swag as a thank-you to the community for supporting their work.
 
Brenda Hunt, President and CEO of BCCF, will offer some brief remarks at 5:20 p.m. near the OTG gathering space in the boardroom.
 
Olsen says Hunt, who will retire from her position with BCCF at the end of March 2024, has been a tireless champion of Battle Creek and a true leader.
 
“Community is at the heart of this event and Brenda truly exemplifies the meaning of community and the positive impact that we all can make when we come together.”