He has wandered all over Greece, laden with old and heavy cassette players, bobbins, video cameras, every tool imaginable that could record and preserve folklore customs, music, attire and, needless to say, rituals and trends rooted in the farthest depths of tradition.

The ethnography narrative, “folkoristics” if you will, owes a great deal to George Melikis, a tireless researcher and curator. Yet, he, too, draws energy from his interminable explorations which give him the momentum to travel vast distances ranging from journalistic research, even though he’s now a retired reporter, to actual participation in firewalking rituals known as anastenaria, or record producing, culminating in presentations at great museums, foundations, cultural institutions and the academic arena.

This accumulated experience comprising tangible and intangible material is now available to the public at the Ethnographic Center George Melikis – Mask Research Center, apropos located at his birthplace which is none other than the village Meliki in the municipality of Imathia. The exhibition is on display at his paternal manor house, a frequent home to permanent and special exhibitions such as “Tradition and the Child”, “Traditions of Our Land” , “Offering of Worship – Human Stories”, “Firewalking”. At present there is also the exhibition entitled “Balkan Masks”, a large artistic project featuring a wide selection of masks related to Greek and Balkan folk practices. The element of a mask is dominant in folkloric practices and is encountered in innumerable shapes and forms.

As George Melikis himself says, “by instilling a historic and aesthetic sensitivity, we can study, chronicle, gather and promote the vibrant and active form of folklore.” Which we enjoy immensely..