(Community Matters 181) DBCZ April 2026 Events Update

Spring is in the air in Battle Creek. Annie Kelly from the Downtown Battle Creek Zine, rounds up the best local reasons to get out of the house. From lions at Binder Park Zoo to live music nights and a Symphony concert built around Ellis Island stories, we map out what to put on your calendar this April. 

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ABOUT COMMUNITY MATTERS
Former WBCK Morning Show host Richard Piet (2014-2017) returns to host Community Matters, an interview program focused on community leaders and newsmakers in and around Battle Creek. Community Matters is heard Saturdays at 8:00 AM on WBCK-FM (95.3) and anytime at battlecreekpodcast.com.

Community Matters is sponsored by Lakeview Ford Lincoln and produced by Livemic Communications.

Transcript

Spring Signs And Zoo Opening

Richard Piet 0:02

I'm Richard Fyatt. You know, once a month we check in with the Downtown Battle Creek Zine folks to talk about some fun things going on around Battle Creek and in the community. Annie Kelly is back from the Downtown Battle Creek Zine this time to talk to us about things going on. You getting any spring fever there, Annie?

SPEAKER_00 0:22

Well, I will tell you I am ready for the zoo to open.

Richard Piet 0:26

Yes, and we're almost there.

SPEAKER_00 0:28

Yeah, that's a good sign of spring for me.

Behind The Scenes With Lions

Richard Piet 0:31

Yeah, the uh Binder Park Zoo is a harbinger of spring, I would reckon to say. Somebody might say seeing robins is the harbinger of spring. But uh certainly the binder park zoo is one of those things that is terrific and uh it is a marker, isn't it? We're getting there. There's gonna be some lions experiences that we should know about.

SPEAKER_00 0:54

Yeah. New to the zoo is of the lion's experience where you can go behind the scenes and see them train the lions.

Richard Piet 1:04

Oh my.

SPEAKER_00 1:05

So you get kind of an up-close look at these really huge cats.

Richard Piet 1:11

Yeah, they are majestic animals. And I don't know if you watch any reels on social media, but I could spend way too much time looking at cats on social media. And when you look at some, then they start showing you lions. I presume this will be a bit like that, but seeing these animals with the closeness of the proximity of a camera is incredible. Imagine being at the zoo and being able to see them. This is tremendous.

SPEAKER_00 1:44

Yes, not just see them, but hear them. They're very loud.

Richard Piet 1:48

Yeah, that is also something I've noticed. I think I've really watched more tigers than lions, but they kind of moo like cows. But lions, if they want to roar, baby, you're gonna hear that. And we get to hear it at the Binder Park Zoo. Do we know exactly when their opening is?

SPEAKER_00 2:06

April 22nd.

Richard Piet 2:08

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 2:08

So I believe that's Earth A.

Symphony Concert About Ellis Island

Richard Piet 2:10

Okay, perfect correlation there. And why not? All right, April 22nd, Binder Park Zoo and the Lions Experience. Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra has quite an event planned soon.

SPEAKER_00 2:22

Yeah, to celebrate the 250th anniversary. They have a concert coming up called American Dream, and it focuses on Ellis Island and the people who came through Ellis Island.

unknown 2:36

Oh my.

Richard Piet 2:36

Such great stories and incredible stories from that. And it will be commemorated in this special concert.

SPEAKER_00 2:43

Yep. So it'll be music, and I believe there'll be images and stories that are going to be shared throughout the night.

Richard Piet 2:51

Okay. When is that?

SPEAKER_00 2:52

That's April 11th at 7:30.

Live Music Nights At Horrocks

Richard Piet 2:55

All right. So all you have to do is check in with uh the Battle Creek Symphony and get your tickets for that. And another sort of harbinger of spring and summer and warm weather months is the idea that there are more concerts. At least it feels that way. Horrocks is not to be left out of this. Is that right?

SPEAKER_00 3:15

I know it's weird to think that the weekend hotspot right now is a grocery store. But if you're there on a Friday night, they've got not just one, but two venues and both are full.

Richard Piet 3:32

Two venues. Well, I suppose there's enough space and such a gorgeous store.

SPEAKER_00 3:37

Yeah. Yep, yep. They have the tavern, which is kind of back in the corner, and then they have the greenhouse bar.

Richard Piet 3:45

Okay. And there's concerts in both?

SPEAKER_00 3:48

Some nights in both, some nights in one, some nights in the other. So you just have to check in.

New Zine Issue And Library Interview

Richard Piet 3:53

All right. Well, make a date then Friday nights at Horox to take in those concerts and you know, everything else at Horox that's terrific. All right, there's an April issue of the Downtown Battle Creek zine coming soon. What's your favorite part that you want folks to know about?

SPEAKER_00 4:12

I think my favorite part is the interview with Matt Willis, who's the director of Willard Library. I love libraries, and getting to hear his take on why they're important and why it's important to downtown Battle Creek was really interesting.

Richard Piet 4:27

Yeah, he was with us recently too, and uh on community matters. And uh he is just a dynamo of enthusiasm and excitement, and there is a lot to talk about, so check that out in the downtown Battle Creek Zine. If you're in downtown Battle Creek, you can pretty much not go more than five or six feet without finding one. I'm exaggerating, of course, but you know what I mean. You'll find the zine in all of those places. You make sure of that, right?

SPEAKER_00 4:54

Yeah. I mean, the library, of course, is one of our most popular places to pick it up.

Staycations And The Email Newsletter

Richard Piet 5:00

And why not? A perfect place. All right. And some of you may know Annie also uh works with the Convention and Visitors Bureau and talks about monthly. You have some very insightful and fun newsletters that you send out over email, and the latest one had to do with staycations. What were you thinking about with all that?

SPEAKER_00 5:22

Well, I was thinking that people are starting to think about travel, but gas prices are up and airports are a mess. So you don't have to go far to have fun.

Richard Piet 5:36

Yeah, that's a great reminder.

SPEAKER_00 5:38

So there's a downtown hotel in Albion that's actually really great, and you can go to kids and stuff, you can go get a burger at the brewery, and you can go see a movie at the Bome. That's just a great overnight trip, especially if you have kids.

Richard Piet 5:54

Great thought. And so, if folks want to receive that email from you that you send with these insights, how do they do that?

SPEAKER_00 6:02

They can go to battlecreekvisitors.org and look for the newsletter sign up for Deer Battle Creek.

Richard Piet 6:11

Yeah, that's right. It starts out with Deer Battle Creek, and it's very sweet, and I look forward to that. Annie Kelly, downtown Battle Creek Zine, among other things, we appreciate this update. Thank you.

SPEAKER_00 6:22

Thank you.