The story
Kutaisoba in Kutaisi
Kutaisoba, also known as Gviriloba, the Day of Chamomiles, marks Kutaisi's civic holiday each May 2, tracing back to 1920s schoolgirls selling wild chamomiles to fund tuberculosis relief. The modern festival spans concerts, folk performances, open-air theater, markets and an evening fireworks display across Georgia's third-largest city.
Kutaisoba carries a second, more affectionate name, Gviriloba, the Day of Chamomiles, a title that traces back to a specific charitable act in the 1920s, when Kutaisi schoolgirls picked wild chamomile flowers from the surrounding countryside and sold them on May 2 to raise money for local people suffering from tuberculosis.