Youth Leadership Academy Interns to Lead Downtown Walking Tours During Goombay!

This year the Center for Diversity Education will be offering “The Many Faces of Asheville” walking tour during the Goombay Festival on August 23-24. This one-hour, eight-block stroll focuses on local communities of historic and cultural significance. The tour outlines the influx of peoples into the Asheville area from pre-colonial exploration to contemporary immigration. Stops on the walk include the Kress Building, Pack Square, Eagle Street, and the businesses along Main Street/Biltmore Avenue.

The tours will be led by students with the City of Asheville Youth Leadership Academy (CAYLA) who have received training from the Center for Diversity Education staff. More than 20 CAYLA students have interned at various offices throughout Asheville, including the Center for Diversity Education and UNC-Asheville during the summer of 2008.

“I think this is
great practice for speaking in front of a group, for how to get a feel
for it,” said James Smith, an Asheville High Senior and CAYLA intern at
the Center. “This program gives us something positive to be a part of,
and also a head start on college.” CAYLA interns from the Center have
learned about national history in the context of local history and will
be providing this educational opportunity for local citizens and
tourists alike.

“This
tour gives people something to do that will also be a good learning
experience,” said CAYLA intern TJ Davidson, a rising sophomore at
Asheville High, when asked about the significance of a walking tour
that highlights the multicultural communities in WNC. Participants may
register for the tour by visiting the Center for Diversity Education
booth at the top of Eagle Street during the Goombay Festival. Tours
begin on the hour. The cost is $5 per person.

For
additional information, call or email the Center at (828) 232-5024 or
[email protected]. Or visit online at www.diversityed.org .