Baton Rouge lit up with community spirit during the city’s annual White Light Night on Nov. 21.
This iconic festival is known to be an outlet for local Baton Rouge vendors and give them a moment of spotlight. This festival started off back in 1997 by Mid City Merchants. The first-ever event only featured eight vendors, but since then, it has included dozens of vendors from across the city.
The intention behind this festival is to showcase local talent, celebrate the community and kick off the holiday season. Most people look forward to White Light Night as their way to kick off annual holiday shopping.
Local artists attend this event annually to promote the importance of supporting small businesses and showcasing what makes them unique. Kait Culy, owner of Honey Bee Baking Co., feels strongly about small businesses’ presence at White Light Night.
“Small business is the lifeblood of any community,” Culy said. “You’re not just supporting a corporation — you’re supporting families.”
This year marked Culy’s third year selling sweet treats at White Light Night. She said she was inspired to start up her business two years ago to combat her postpartum depression. Baking was her outlet, and her husband encouraged her to pursue it as a business soon after. Since then, she has been doing local pop-ups across the city and even opened up her own storefront back in January.
“My business is a way to connect to the community,” Culy said. “The people are the best part. I bake with love and a lot of intention, and it’s really great to share that with people. I’ve made so many great relationships in the community because of that.”
Another vendor, Sara Buggs, displayed her own paintings for sale at White Light Night. Buggs is the owner of Sara Buggs Art, and she specializes in acrylic painting. For her, painting is a hobby that allows her to relieve stress and be creative.
This was her first time at White Light Night, but she is used to doing pop-ups around the area. She said she was ecstatic to be a part of this event and promote her brand to the community. Bugs feels that events like these are huge for vendors in the area.
“It helps us have an avenue for selling our products,” Buggs said. “I feel really great knowing that my work is in someone’s home or office. Amazon and those corporations have enough money. So it’s important to buy local and support someone in the community. Keep your dollars here; it really helps Baton Rouge thrive.”
The team behind Folklore Custom, another brand featured at White Light Night, also feel that supporting small businesses is very important in Baton Rouge. Founders Kaitlyn Wilkinson and Maddie have sold handmade crocheted items since last February, including at the Electric Depot.
“These [vendors] will really benefit from your money more than Shein will,” Maddie said. “If we’re not supporting local businesses, then suddenly, no one’s going to have a local business. You’re going to be down to your only options being Amazon, Walmart, Forever 21 and stuff like that. I think the more local business options there are, the more options you have.”
For the Folklore Custom team, art is about expressing themselves and bringing creative visions to life with only yarn and crochet hooks. They are able to hook in the community with their talent and create a bond with the people around them.
“We have met people that come back to us that we would never have met if we didn’t do this,” Wilkinson said.
By supporting small businesses, you’re not just purchasing an item — you’re helping to support local art and the hours of love and dedication that it took to make it. Mid City Merchant’s annual White Light Night has become a meaningful way to light up the city of Baton Rouge both physically and emotionally during the holiday season.
