Twenty-two WCU elementary education students and volunteers prepare to guide Jackson County 2nd graders as part of a Mountain Heritage week of celebration.
The crafts and cultural demonstration for elementary students from the surrounding areas will be on Tuesday, Sept. 23 near the WCU picnic tables. Students of the elementary social studies methods class will be tending to the students and helping run the event working with teachers, volunteers and other staff.
After being cancelled in 2024 because of Hurricane Helene, Mountain Heritage Day has become a week-long serial of events, workshops, music and symposiums celebrating the Appalachian culture, people and traditions.
Skylar Wheeler, a student in the elementary social studies methods class is excited for the opportunity.
“I grew up in the Appalachian Mountains and I had the privilege of being informed on my community and the culture that formed that area. I want the same thing for future generations,” Wheeler wrote in an email.
With the day fast approaching, students of the class get ready for the experience, Vanessa Feliz, a student in the class, urges the audience to attend the event citing its importance to our culture and identity of our home.
“I think the audience should know how important this event is, especially after the delay of the events last year and that we missed out on such an important and crucial part of the home of where we live,” Feliz wrote in an email.
