Batumi Celebrates “Batumoba”
Guests were given the opportunity to travel to mountainous Adjara without leaving the city when the annual celebration of Batumoba took place in the coastal city on September 5 and 6. This year’s Batumoba stood out for its interesting events and overall diversity, tailored to people of all ages and satisfying tastes from Batumi and beyond.
The Dumbadze and Memed Abashidze streets were decorated to celebrate Batumoba taking place during September 5-6, and various events took place there, including a trumpet orchestra march, pantomime and finger theater shows, ballroom dancing and local business exhibitions. The Department of Tourism and Resorts of Adjara organized the “Gandagana” festival at the Europe Square, the main theme of which was Adjarian villages in all their colorful and attractive charm. Street entrances had a layout makeover to make them more similar to Adjarian villages, while the rest of the territory was transformed into a village yard in its entirety, complete with wooden fences and various props associated with the theme – even with hay covering the ground in some places. Furthermore, a model of a typical Adjarian village house was on display in Europe Square.
The festival was musically enriched by local folklore groups, and ethno-jazz, ethno-rock and pop bands joined in the fun during the evening. Games and thematic contests took place, such as a competition to award the fastest to cleaning corn cobs and a tug-of-war. Master classes were given, teaching participants to culture cheese, and to make Tatara and dipped Churchkhela. In short, visitors were able to travel to mountainous Adjara without leaving the city.
Batumoba didn’t leave children without a share of the fun, either; they were treated to a music “Party in the Magic Palace” on the colonnades stage.
City Mayor Giorgi Ermakov announced honorary Batumi residents: musician Lasha Ghlonti, Doctor Avtandil Diasamidze, athlete Gia Jorbenadze, teacher Dali Chilidze, architect Elguja Tsivadze and archeologist Amiran Kakhidze. After the awards ceremony, which took place at the musical center, the national symphonic orchestra presented the “World Cinematic Masterpieces” project conducted by Nika Rachveli. The project was presented for the first time in Batumi and several songs were co-performed with singer Anita Rachvelishvili. The program included pieces from Charlie Chaplin, Nino Rota, Gia Kancheli and others.
A further special show was presented over two days near the Alphabet Tower by famous Andalusian flamenco dancer and choreographer, Jose Candela. The tower territory also paid host to numerous free concerts in the evening from Batumi bands “Black Sea”, “Strawberry Fields”, “The Nemo”, “Sound Lab”, “Rene Band”, and Mebo Nutsubidze and the “Bearfox.” Batumoba ended with a gala concert, with the “Nota” quartet, Kvicha Maghlakelidze’s quartet, the “Batumi” ensemble, Achiko Beridze’s quartet, Nana Meskhi, Lasha Ghlonti, the Theatrical Quartet, Karolina Chernetska, and the band “Prani” all participating in the show.
The 60 days of Heat Batumi overall cover over 200 events hosting 259 foreign artists from over 20 countries. With up to 2000 participants overall, Heat Batumi is split into 11 thematic weeks, with each and every one having a unique topic and artistic accent. Heat Batumi is suitable for people of all ages and allows visitors to plan their vacation based on what they wish to see most. There’s fun going down all day-round.