Overwhelming success for this year’s Festival of Thrift

October 6th 2017

Record numbers of visitors flocked to this year’s National Festival of Thrift at Kirkleatham, near Redcar.

Over 45,000 attended the UK’s national celebration of sustainability as the award-winning event celebrated its fifth year of spreading the word about good eco-friendly living.

The Festival of Thrift is supported using public funding by the National Lottery through Arts Council England, and enabled through a partnership with Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council and Tees Valley Combined Authority with further support from SABIC and Teesside University.

A packed programme entertained and amazed festival-goers throughout the weekend.  Across the site’s ten zones audiences enjoyed acrobatic street theatre, dancing and music, performances inspired by green issues and planting and growing, artwork from regional artists, hands-on fun with craft activities as well as an unforgettable and magical open air theatre bus through the streets of Redcar.

People spent the weekend taking part in a huge variety of activities including tucking into a giant community meal inspired by Saltburn in the walled garden and eating at pop-up campervan restaurants, making noisy toys from old computer parts, creating a bag from an old t-shirt in the BBC’s craft tipi, bringing stories to life, crafting, den-building, making and learning together.

In addition over 130 stalls selling upcycled products and locally sourced goods from regional entrepreneurial small businesses did a roaring trade with visitors.

Stella Hall, Festival of Thrift director said that people had come from far and wide and had embraced the festival with enthusiasm. “It’s been an incredible event and the magical site at Kirkleatham has been filled with happy people having a wonderful weekend. Such an inspiring couple of days with a warm sense of community.”