"Regional Styles of Tying and Wearing Balkan Headgear"

Using a live model, Marvin will demontrate various traditional methods and regional styles of tying and wearing Balkan headgear - scarves and ornaments used for decoration.

Marvin will explain subtle differences that show how each region and even every village utilizes different types of headgear and ornamentation. He'll also provide participants with instruction and coaching in the arts of tying and wearing headscarves.

Marvin has delivered this session both in-person and virtually and has generated high levels of interest and participation by coaching learners in creative ways.

Participants will learn to tie and wear scarves and other accessories that create a more realistic folk-like appearance at international folk dance events.

Bring your own headscarves, headgear and other accessories to try your hand at these techniques.

Marvin Moehle (Costume Collector Extraordinaire) was born in Granite City, IL (an old Macedonian Immigrant settlement). As a young kid, he began to record Immigrants, walking from house to house collecting folk songs, dances and customs from the early Immigrants.

Marvin started collecting folk costumes in the early 1980's. To date, he has collected costumes from Albania, Bulgaria, Croatia, China, Greece, Hungary, Macedonia, Poland, Serbia and Turkmenistan. While the majority of his collection is from Macedonia and Bulgaria, he also has costumes of minority groups living in the Balkans including: Aroumanian, Roma, Vlachs, Albanians in Macedonia, Turks in Bulgaria, Pomaks, Torbeshi, etc.

He has several hundred costumes and artifacts. One artifact includes the large outside cross, from the first Macedono-Bulgarian Orthodox church in America. He also has collected books and document archives, record collection including old ethnic 78rpms. His book collection includes rare books published and printed in Granite City, IL in the Bulgarian language.

Marvin’s vision is to eventually open a small private Ethnographic museum.