Last year, I had the opportunity to cover Melungeon Heritage Association's annual gathering in Kingsport, Tenn. for "The Appalachian Voices" at the request of my old Radford University professor Dr. Bill Kovarik.
It was an informative, educational gathering which helped me learn more about the Melungeon people_ a distinct group of individuals who live in Appalachia who may have ancestoral origins in Turkey as well as North Africa and Portugal. Melungeon populations are found primarily in parts of Virginia, Kentucky and Tennessee.
This year, I am happy to report that Raleigh-based folk dancer Zeki Maviyildiz and his Blue Star (Mavi Yildiz means Blue Star in Turkish) Dance Troupe will perform at this year's Melungoen reunion in Big Stone Gap, Va., on June 30.
Maviyildiz will bring both traditional and modern Turkish dance to the Southwest Virginia Museum in Big Stone Gap.
The focus of the conference will be 'Before 1607_ Melungeons in the New World.'
Dr. Brent Kennedy, a Melungeon civic leader and historian, has brought much of the focus of the ancestorial links between Melungeons and Anatolia into the limelight. Unfortunately, Kennedy suffered a major stroke some two years ago, though he is on the road to recovery. Kennedy recently traveled to New York to speak with alumni of Istanbul University who now live in America.
This year's gathering will also feature a documentary film entitled "Melungeon Voices," by Julie Williams.
Maviyildiz has performed at various functions throughout the country, and especially in the Raleigh-Durham area. I have met him personally, but alas I have yet to see him perform. Maviyildiz hails from the city of Kars in northwest Turkey.
The reunion will also feature speakers Lisa Alter, Jack Goins, Wayne Winkler and Terry Mullins. Their story is quite a fascinating one as they are believed to be the descandents of sailors who landed with Sir Walter Raleigh's ships around Roanoke Island, NC.
I have preliminary plans to go to Charlotte that weekend, but I hope this entry can help spread interest in this event in both the Turkish-American and Melungeon communities.
Big Stone Gap is about 150 miles west of Roanoke, Va.- my hometown. The closest metro area to Big Stone Gap would be the Bristol-Kingsport area which is divided between Virginia and Tennessee.
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