Whether you have a deep base of knowledge about the region and want to learn more, or you’re starting fresh and have a bit of the teacher in you, Buffalo Tours is offering a docent training class, beginning February 13th.
After five weekly group classes, held on consecutive Saturday’s from 9:30AM to 12:30PM, trainees will then train with individual organizations for the remainder, which varies in duration, (though those in the Buffalo Tours group will do an additional five weeks). Learn about history, architecture, current events and the local heritage and culture surrounding organizations like Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper, Buffalo Religious Arts Center, the Roycroft Campus Corporation and the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site. (Full list here.)
Buffalo Tours Education Coordinator Fred Schrock said that docent volunteers can choose which organization they would like to train for. There is a $75 fee and an application process, so those interested should contact Buffalo Tours by February 1st in order to allow time for a phone interview prior to the 13th.
Schrock says of the docents, “We get every type of person you can imagine – people new to the city, graduate students, retired people, people from other towns who want to know more about Buffalo and the region.” He adds that this is the biggest, most widely spread tour menu they have ever offered, branching much further into the region. (The thought of anyone new to the city taking a crash course on Buffalo through this program is so smart!)
“We’ll have speakers come in too, like people from the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau. And we’ll take the classes on tours of the Martin House, the Power Vista,” Schrock explains. “Though it’s nice to have knowledge coming in, we teach as if everyone is new to the area. And graduation is fun because friends and family are invited on a tour, where we always hear a lot of, ‘We never knew about this!'”
Image: Tour group in the Market Arcade