The Shadow
CLIFTON FORGE, Va. (VR)—Appalfolks of America Association (AAA) is celebrating its 40th anniversary by donating a show poster of Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters to The Discovery Center in Covington.
Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters, a Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee, is a member of The Virginia Opry that AAA founded in Clifton Forge in 1992. Pinkney’s group has performed on stage for Appalfolks at The Historic Masonic Theatre and at Alleghany High School.
M. Ray Allen, an educator, poet, and journalist, founded The Virginia Opry with Ray Tucker, a guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter, as the first director of the 10-member troupe that has grown to 72 members and 12 bands.
In 2017, the Commonwealth of Virginia General Assembly honored The Virginia Opry with “House Resolution 397” for completing 25 consecutive years of producing country music shows in the Alleghany Highlands. In 2020, Governor Ralph S. Northam signed “Senate Bill 283” to designate The Virginia Opry as the Commonwealth of Virginia’s official Opry.
AAA established Special Theatrical Artists Revue & Showcase (STARS) in 1996, and the troupe of 10 members who faced intellectual challenges and/or physical disabilities has grown to include 29 performers. STARS opened its 2025 performance season on April 13 at The Historic Masonic Theatre where it made its debut in 1996. A 2006 documentary film titled “STARS” was produced by AAA in conjunction with Media Storm Productions of Virginia Beach, and the film won a Bronze Telly.
The Virginia Opry will open its performance season on June 7, at The Historic Masonic Theatre when Seals and Croft 2 headline the show. CBS News broadcast The Virginia Opry’s performance at the War Memorial in Richmond on Veterans Day last year, and Governor Glenn Youngkin introduced Dan Tyminski, the main act last year at the Virginia State Fair in Doswell.
“The framed show poster of Bill Pinkney’s Original Drifters is the largest poster AAA has framed in its 40-year history.,” M. Ray Allen, founder and president of AAA, revealed.
Allen continued, “Appalfolks is competing against nine other nonprofit organizations in the Alleghany Highlands in The Alleghany Foundation and the Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce & Tourism ‘s Giving Tuesday, a fundraising program by Mighty Cause.”
He concluded, “Hopefully, those who read this press release will visit www.givelocalah.org and click on Appalfolks to view the good work posted in print and on videos that has been achieved during the past 40 years.”
