Teen Celebs support the 2008 Youth Village!

Los Angeles, CA, August 26, 2008 - Teen actress, Paige Hurd, Youth Village Ambassador for the 23^rd annual African Marketplace and Cultural Faire will return on Saturday, August 30^th to host the stage full of teen celebrities & greet visitors from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Hurd, best known for her role as Vanessa opposite Queen Latifah in "Beauty Shop" and Tasha on "Everybody Hates Chris," has a growing list of credits behind her such as; "Suite Life of Zach and Cody," "The George Lopez Show," "Felicity," "Cradle 2 Grave" with Jet Li and "Never Die Alone" starring DMX.

In addition to Hurd, the youth stage will feature a celeb speaker series from 2 to 3 p.m. Speakers include Mishon Ratcliff (Taylor) and Rhyon Brown (Lizzie) on the ABC family show, "Lincoln Heights." Rhyon has recurring roles in several TV shows and was in 50 Cents' film, "Get Rich or Die Tryin'." Mishon recently inked a deal with Interscope Records and will be performing at 3:30 p.m.

If you watched the movie, "Dreamgirls" then you know Mariah Wilson. She played Magic, daughter to Effie (Jennifer Hudson) and has been featured in a variety of television shows. Mariah will be singing in the Youth Village as well as speaking to the kids.

Actress Raven Goodwin from the Nickelodeon show "Just Jordan" and the film, "Phat Girlz" starring Monique will be performing on Saturday and Scooter Smith, one of Chris Brown's featured dancers will also join the stage between 3 - 4 p.m.

Lil B. Sure, son of R & B singer Al B. Sure performs at 4:00 p.m. that day. The younger Sure appeared on the 2008 MTV reality show "Rock the Cradle" and is currently filming a movie.

Ben Lee Foster, an award-winning teen filmmaker with 14 films to his credit will join the team to speak to the youth and encourage them to work hard. Ben has appeared on the Montel Williams Show, Fox 5, and CNN Headline News. Last but certainly not least, Ms. Teen Black Los Angeles, Brittney Williams will be present to share her experience and to motivate the kids.

Other special attractions in the village include free giveaways and 5,000 backpacks, games, inflatables, a petting zoo, ponies, face painting, magic, arts and crafts, and sizzling multi-cultural performances by youth dance companies along with independent artists.

The African Marketplace and Cultural Faire is an annual event that celebrates the rich contributions of the African Diaspora. The faire offers three different stages, Carribean music, Jazz, R&B, Latin music, a Brazilian festival, a Literary Village, Holistic Village, Tennis Tournament, exotic food court, Cinema After Dark outdoor film festival and more.

The African Marketplace will return for it's last weekend Aug. 30, 31 and Sept. 1 to Rancho Cienega Recreation Center, 5001 Rodeo Road, Los Angeles 90016. Gates open each day at 10 a.m., and close at 9 p.m.

The cost of admission is $8 for adults, $5 for children under 10 and seniors. Group rates are available for groups of 10 or more.

The African Marketplace is a non-profit event sponsored in part by the City of Los Angeles and numerous private corporations, foundations, foreign organizations and community groups.

For additional information on the Youth Village, contact Youth Village Producer, Nina Womack at the African Marketplace office at 3347 W. 43rd St., Los Angeles, CA 90008. (323) 293-1612 or (323) 293-1073 (fax) or via email at nileprods@gmail.com. Visit the African Marketplace website at www.africanmarketplace.org for more details.