Get set for the Festival of Thrift’s free and fun-filled weekend!
EVERYONE interested in sustainable lifestyles and a successful green transition is invited to the Festival of Thrift which runs over the weekend of Saturday 21st and Sunday, September 22nd in Billingham town centre and John Whitehead Park.
But even if combatting climate change is not top of your agenda, there’s plenty to attract you to the free festival’s signature mix of outdoor arts performances, live music, enlightening talks, playful installations and over 100 stalls selling goods from North-East artisan businesses.
A packed schedule of free activities running from 11 am-5 pm each day is part of a diverse and captivating programme that promises something for everybody.
Across the festival site visitors will find performances and free workshops in The Imagined Meadow area, activities focused on the natural world in The Allotment Patch, crafting and storytelling in Camp Thrift, slow fashion shows and stalls in Slow Fashion Alley, performances in the Bandstand, and Festival of Thrift’s famous Fix-it Café in Billingham Library.
Meanwhile, ethically-produced goods, food and drink will be on sale from a host of stalls around the site.
- Highlights include:
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- Performances
- https://www.festivalofthrift.co.uk/whats-on/performance/ including
- an interactive artwork 100 Miles of String by Leap then Look
- sustainability fashion influencer Lucy Jane Fashion’s Charity Shop Bop
- folk-dance collective DIY Ceilidh
- A Man Called Adam’s Supernature off-grid eco-disco
- BOXVILLE, a land made entirely from sustainable cardboard by Cardboard Adventures
- giant playable models of classic retro games by Actual Reality Arcade
- Fix-it café with experienced fixers mending things that need fixing
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- Talks
- https://www.festivalofthrift.co.uk/whats-on/talks/ including:
- Billingham’s own Paul Smith, lead singer with Maxïmo Park, in conversation with Festival of Thrift co-founder and designer Wayne Hemingway discussing music, identity, and growing up in northern towns like Billingham (12.30, Saturday, The Shindig)
- Fashion influencer Lucy Jane Fashion, photographer Casey Orr (Saturday Town) and disabled artist and drag king, Lady Kitt (Drag declares emergency) dive into fashion, identity, sustainability and joy (11am, Sunday, The Shindig)
- Award-winning authors Amy-Jane Beer and Helen Mort and landscape artist James Brunt discuss how their creative practice connects to, is inspired by and in dialogue with the natural world (12pm, Sunday, The Shindig)
- Music
- https://www.festivalofthrift.co.uk/whats-on/music/summary films of the Basecamp at Thrift Stage music programme
- Workshops
- Drop-in or book on-the-day sessions to learn new skills including den building, slacklining, making eco-friendly cleaning products, sewing sustainable scrunchies, crafting banners out of scrap materials, an introduction to lino printing, interactive musical workshops and imagining the Billingham of the Future using an actual tonne of clay.
- Stalls
- https://www.festivalofthrift.co.uk/stalls/marketplace/ethically-produced goods, food and drink on sale from a host of traders located around the site
Renowned designer and Festival of Thrift Co-founder Wayne Hemingway MBE will also return to speak at the festival with Billingham’s own Paul Smith, lead singer with Maxïmo Park, to discuss music, identity, and growing up in northern towns like Billingham (12.30, Saturday, The Shindig). Wayne will also present a series of Best In Show thrifty fashion awards.
Tanya Steinhauser, Festival of Thrift Co-Creative Director, said: “We are so delighted to be returning to Billingham, for the variety of space, people and history it offers.
“This year we’re also excited to be partnering with Base Camp Industries for the first time who will be bringing in fantastic local and regional musicians.”
The site is easily accessible by foot, bike and public transport. Parking is available including a park and ride option and a pre-bookable ticket per car via the festival’s website.
For more information about the Festival of Thrift visit www.festivalofthrift.co.uk or follow the festival’s social media feeds @festivalofthrift on Facebook and Instagram and @FestoThrift on X/Twitter.
