Tbilisi celebrates International Children’s Day

Tbilisi is celebrating International Children’s Day today and hosting theatre shows, film screenings and fun activities for children at several inner-city public parks.

Festivities are underway at Tbilisi Zoo, Vake Park and Mziuri Park and will continue for the rest of the afternoon before a concert at Vake Park at 8pm tonight.

Each year on June 1 countries around the world mark the International Day for Protection of Children. The day has been marked annually since 1950, with Tbilisi also hosting children-friendly activities in popular city parks and recreational zones.

So come along and have some fun and celebrate International Children’s Day at Tbilisi Zoo, Vake Park and Mziuri Park.

Children can have their hands and faces painted at the Mziuri Park festival. Photo from the Festival of the Sun/Facebook.

The celebrations began at midday at Mziuri Park with an exhibition of hand-crafted items. The annual Festival of the Sun is held annually at Mziuri Park, which was created as a children's town in 1982.

Also at Mziuri Park were several displays highlighting environmental issues and charity, where young visitors collected books for residents of a children's house in east Georgia.

The park, hit by the devastating June 13, 2015 Tbilisi flood before it was restored, will also host a display of miniature huts and houses by creators from Eco Studio Tale-Tellers, made using local vegetation and wooden materials.

Furthermore, an amphitheatre in the middle of the park will host the main show of the Festival at 3pm, with a performance of the theatre play The Garden of the Sun.

A miniature installation by artists of Eco Studio 'Tale-Tellers' in Mziuri Park. Photo from the Festival of the Sun/Facebook.

Last year's Festival of the Sun celebrated the event’s 10th anniversary, organised by local photographer and children's activist Ana Goguadze.

Meanwhile in parallel to this, other Children’s Day celebrations are taking place at Tbilisi Zoo. An animation film screening kicked off the day's events, while later today two theatre troupes will present puppet and shadow performances to the audience.

At Vake Park the Georgian Street Theatre performed a special show for Children’s Day.

In a fairytale tent erected at the park, actors will read tales to children, while sports competitions nearby will involve parkour stunts and basketball matches.

Musical ensembles including folk bands and dance troupes will perform throughout the afternoon at Vake Park before a musical concert concludes the events at 8pm.