Art Gene Festival opens in Georgia

Georgia's leading annual festival of folk culture will launch its regional tour later this evening before culminating in a week-long program of performances and exhibitions in capital Tbilisi next month.

This year's Art Gene Festival will kick off at the Bolnisi Park of Culture in Bolnisi, Kvemo Kartli region, 65km south of capital Tbilisi.

In the space of a week, the cultural event will also bring participants to the central Georgian town Surami on July 1 and the Black Sea city Kobuleti on July 3.

The venues for the occasion will be the Surami Baiantkhevi Park and the Kobuleti Park and seaside Amphitheatre respectively.

The Festival will conclude with a week-long program at Tbilisi's Museum of Ethnography. Photo from Art Gene Festival.

In a customary program of the annual festival, the regional events of Art Gene will be followed by a week-long celebration of events in capital Tbilisi.

Starting July 10, visitors and locals are invited to the capital city's open-air Museum of Ethnography.

Located on the hill leading up to Turtle Lake, the outdoor museum is perfectly suited for hosting folk culture events as it was created to represent a miniature model of Georgia's ethnic diversity in 1966.

Featuring 70 different buildings constructed according to customs in the country's regions, the Museum is comprised of 14 zones dedicated to the culture and habits of locals in regional towns and villages.

The venue recently celebrated the 50th anniversary of its founding as well as 125 years since the birth of its late founder Giorgi Chitaia.

Within this year's Art Gene Festival, the museum will host daily folk music and dance performances from various regions of Georgia. The museum will also invite visitors to see craft items and contemporary artwork exhibited and sold at the site.

Performers of varying specialties will also be seen entertaining folk culture enthusiasts at the event with martial arts shows taking the stage along with music performances.

Visitors will see bands and troupes including the Sukhishvilebi National Ballet, Outsider, Frani, Insight, 33A and State Pantomime Theatre through a range of performances lasting until July 17.

Shows of the regional tour of Art Gene Festival will be free to attend, while tickets for the week-long festival program at the Tbilisi Museum of Ethnography are on sale on www.biletebi.ge.