THOUSANDS of tourists are expected to learn all about sustainable living and how to follow a frugal way of life at a two-day festival returning to the region this weekend.

The sixth-annual Festival of Thrift will host dozens of stallholders, artists, workshops and attractions stretching across ten zones in the Kirkleatham Museum grounds, near Redcar.

More than 45,000 people visited last year and this weekend’s offering will focus on sustainable transport.

Celebrations will begin with the festival’s first ever launch parade in Redcar on Friday evening, followed by all-day activity from 10am until 5pm on Saturday and Sunday at Kirkleatham.

The sights, sounds and smells during the two-day weekender will include North-East bands, performers and produce.

An array of independent traders will be set up in a number of food courts selling everything from vegan to vegetarian fare to the Whole Hog – a challenge set for caring and carnivorous clientele to eat an organic pig at the Festival so that nothing goes to waste.

Festival of Thrift director, Stella Hall, said: “This year offers another amazing Festival of Thrift programme and we are proud to work with local and national artists and makers, community foundations, educational establishments and businesses to have created it together.

“We’ve worked hard to make it different again for visitors and to have extended our programme this year to include being involved in the national procession celebration of the hundredth anniversary year of women’s suffrage and to have brought artists to the Tees Valley in Viewpoints to provoke discussions about sustainability.

“This year also sees our first-ever launch parade for the Festival, which invites people to ‘be thrifty, be happy’ for a fun and entertaining spectacle that will enhance the feel-good atmosphere of Thrift.”

Live music will be filling the air for the two-day weekender, with bands playing afro-beats, indie and psyche, folk-rock, jazz and soul.

Film fans can also see the thrifty one-take re-shoot of the famous Atonement Redcar beach scene, featuring actor-volunteers from the area.

Visitors are also to bring along electronic scrap, plastic bottles and broken things to be up-cycled and turned into something new.

Workshops also offer the chance to try blacksmithing, Swedish birch bark weaving and cooking with smoke.