See what Tbilisi has to offer for Christmas and New Year’s Eve
Major daily activities and entertainment is hosted on First Republic Square in downtown. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.
Tweet 
Share
From theatrical shows to artist concerts, open-air fairs and exhibition of countryside products, Georgia’s capital is celebrating the festive season for locals and visitors with a lot to see and experience.
The city’s various venues and open locations are hosting events and activities for adults and kids alike, from amusement shows to museum exhibitions.
At Christmas Village set up on First Republic Square, near Rustaveli Avenue, troupes like Movement Theatre and Puppet Theatre will open a programme for the location on Friday and Saturday.
Young visitors have a diverse programme of stage performances to watch on the Square. Photo: Nino Alavidze/agenda.ge.
Staged performances at the spot — built around the main Christmas tree of the city — will also include a daily March of the Nutcrackers, in a nod to the globally recognised Christmas tale.
A range of popular musical artists and bands, from Loudspeakers to Young Georgian Lolitaz, Nino Katamadze, Giorgi Tsagareli and SvanSikh will bring their talent to a stage set on the Square between Friday and January 14.
Concerts and book projects for children, Georgian musicals and other shows are also on the schedule for the Christmas Village.
Moving from the downtown location to Mtatsminda Park, a hilltop location overlooking the city, circus shows will join theatre performances and “attractions for visitors of all ages” to provide entertainment on the backdrop of Tbilisi in winter.
The Fabrika venue, located on Ninoshvili Street, will have a two-day New Year’s Eve celebration. Photo: Nakanimamasakhlisi Photo LAB.
Santa Claus and his Georgian counterpart will be at the location on the Main Square and the Kids Zone, to bring festive cheer to young visitors in the decorated Park through January 14.
Visitors more interested in culinary delights are invited to two days of “ultimate Georgian gastronomic experience” at Fabrika, a former Soviet sewing factory turned into a hospitality and creative venue.
A menu for December 31 late evening celebration at the location will feature a “focus on communal wine and dine, an indulgent celebration,” organisers said.
It will be followed by live jazz music in the lobby, starting at 11:30pm. Led by Tbilisi State Conservatoire Rector Rezo Kiknadze and his band, the performances will be accompanied by “specialty hand-crafted cocktails” for those visiting the venue that was named among winners of the Global Architecture & Design Awards earlier this year.
The hilltop Mtatsminda Park will have its own range of events, particularly kids. Photo: Mtatsminda Park on Facebook.
Hosts will even have a hangover-curing treatment for the next morning, offering “hearty bowls of the famous Chikhirtma soup” and a drinks station.
Museum-goers can find their own points of interest throughout the city during the festive days.
On Saturday, the Tapestry and Art Textile Museum will open with an exhibition and sale of agricultural produce and handcrafted items by women from the mountainous Pankisi Gorge.
Craft items made of felt and clay will be offered to visitors between 2pm-8pm along with a photographic exhibition illustrating people and life in the remote highland location.
A display featuring creations by Sidonia Nun alongside designer Lika Keburia will highlight intersections of fashion and religion. Photo: Sidonia Nun on Facebook.
Over at the Museum of Georgia, located on Rustaveli Avenue, an interactive programme teaches kids how to make New Year’s Eve items and products based on historical local traditions.
Items like chichilaki, a western Georgian version of Christmas tree made out of wood sticks, and celebratory bread, are taught to visitors aged 6-13 by professionals at the Museum through January 21, through advance registration.
Those interested in creations at the intersection of art, fashion and religion will be invited to exposition space Terminal for a collaborative project between designer Lika Keburia and Georgian nun Sidonia.
Aiming to present a “dialogue between the worlds of religion and fashion”, organisers will introduce the concept through coloured glass medium.
A summary for the show said it would illustrate a cohabitation between the “mysterious world of a nun” and contemporary times.
The mayor of Tbilisi Kakha Kaladze and Prime Minister of Georgia Mamuka Bakhtadze have lit up the city's main Christmas tree on First Republic Square today.
The festive season has again sparked creative talent among Christmas tree decorators across Georgia, from fire department personnel throughout the country creating trees from their equipment to an upcoming showcase of quirky designs at the Christmas Tree Festival in capital Tbilisi.
The main New Year fir tree will be festively brightened in capital Tbilisi at 8pm on December 15, in front of the former Parliament building on Rustaveli Avenue, Tbilisi Mayor’s Office has announced.
A celebration of all things book-related will join in on the Christmas season for the fifth year in Tbilisi, as publishers and readers prepare to come together at the city’s New Year Book Festival over the next three days.
Public transport will be free on New Year’s Eve in Tbilisi so that people attending outdoor celebrations can later get home more easily, announces Tbilisi City Hall.
Over 200 popular local artists will celebrate New Year’s Eve with crowds in a gala concert on Tbilisi’s First Republic Square on Monday.On a stage set in the Christmas Village on the Square, the four-hour show will launch at 11pm and go well into the night to mark the onset of 2019.
With the 2018 festive season, agenda.ge marks its fifth New Year's Eve of publishing. To mark the occasion, we have selected our top five articles and reports from our archives between 2013-2018 - have a look at Christmas and New Year stories we have been writing below.
Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze wished Georgian citizens good health, success and lots of reasons for happiness in 2019. Bakhtadze expressed hope that this year will be more fruitful for Georgia and its citizens.
President of Georgia Salome Zurabishvili has sent her first New Year wishes as the president of the country from the new presidential palace – Orbeliani Palace.
While a major part of Christmas and New Year’s Eve celebrations has already taken place, locals and visitors in Tbilisi can look for more daily entertainment events in the city’s Christmas Village, to mark the Orthodox Christmas and the Old New Year dates.
A two-week programme of concerts, theatre shows, film screenings and workshops for young visitors is running at two locations in the Georgian capital to bring festive spirit to locals and visitors.