The western Georgian city of Kutaisi is preparing to host this year’s Gemo Fest food and drink festival later this month, with local hosts set to present their customary dishes into street food for visitors.

The Georgian National Tourism Administration announced on Wednesday the event would be hosted in Veriko Anjaparidze Square in the downtown where local producers would prepare food, while the GNTA’s Eka Kolbaia said organisers would host a “very interesting environment [with] fun [and] entertaining music”. 

The organisers will select 20 local hosts and help them remake their traditional dishes into a street food form. The products will be offered to guests at the food court, while those flocking to the event will also be invited to bars, wine and enterprise markets, zones for children, a photo booth, installations and music shows.

I think that for the busy tourist season, it will be one of the interesting events not only in the region, but throughout the country, and tourist companies will take it into account in their programmes. We will be happy to host both tourists and guests from other regions of Georgia”, Mari Devidze, the Executive Director of Imereti Destination Management Organisation said.

GNTA Head Maia Omiadze noted the inaugural edition of Gemo Fest had been held last year in the western city of Ambrolauri in Racha region, and the town of Mestia in the north-western Svaneti region.

• Gemo Fest: Georgia’s north-west to host local food, drink festival

It should be noted that beneficiaries [of the event in] Racha [later] opened a cafe on Orbeliani Square [in the capital city of Tbilisi] and continued the sustainability of their business. This festival uniquely helps to develop local businesses apart from promoting tourism”, Omiadze said.

She also promised Kutaisi would host an “exceptionally big festival” this year. 

We will have participants from different parts of the Imereti region. Local participants will bring one dish each, and famous chefs will give these dishes a modern twist”, Omiadze said.

This year’s Gemo Fest is set to run between June 17-18.

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