in 2017 September 16-17 The first SOFIA festival was held in Kuliai - a celebration of theater, music, literature, cinema and community spirit, the axis of which was an outstanding creative personality who lived an important stage of her life in Kuliai - writer, playwright, public figure, pedagogue, promoter of the women's movement Sofija Čiurlionienė - Kymantaitė. The festival has become a tradition and is organized every year.

"There is - Good - and beautiful. - There is a source" - this is how Sofija meant a hint about her husband M.K. Čiurlionis, as if about the opening of a nourishing spring. Sofia can become such a source today. Her desire to serve Lithuania and culture is not alien to the initiators of the festival and the artists participating in it - the desire to create for others, to spread culture, to bring together the communities of big cities and small towns.
A gift from the artists of the festival to the park of the Kulia church - sculptural installations commemorating historical figures who lived here: "Sofia's bench" and "Texture" (M. Sauka), "Vaižganto's glasses" (D. Sodeika), "100 birds" (J. Archikauskas and the people of Kulia) ), "Books and fog" (T. Kensminas), "Pakeliui" (R. Urbanskas). During the 2019 festival, the sculpture "Vaikas ir citrina" (Child and Citrina) created for the dam of Kulių pond (Mykolas Sauka) and the musical instrument installation "Lizdo" for Kulių Park by Tomoo Nagai echo".

Valentinas Masalskis, an actor and director who recently settled in Kulais, the artistic director of the Sofia Festival, says that the festival draws its inspiration from Sofija Kymantaitė-Čiurlionienė, a writer, playwright, public figure, educator, promoter of the women's movement, who spent an important period of her life in this region. "Our festival initiatives are like a continuation of Sofia's cultural-educational activities and efforts to "infect the culture", he says.

Raimonda Masalskienė, the organizer of the festival, points out that the main focus of the festival is diverse forms of cultural search, which aim to interest the audience of both smaller towns and big cities: "We want to refute the usual view that high-quality cultural events only take place in big cities, and after all, it is the smaller town that the festival can provide a greater cultural attraction effect. The historical context of the festival not only inspires the content, but also encourages us to expand our understanding."

The organizer of the festival is the public institution "Domus alba".

Thanks to the support of the Lithuanian Culture Council, the experiences of the SOFIA festival in Kuliai are free for adults and children.