Sustainability Festival of Thrift returns this weekend with jam packed online schedule

In its first ever online-only outing, Thriftfest Upcycled, the national celebration of sustainable living, has a day-long programme of virtual events offering 13 activities, ten workshops, six talks and four demonstrations.

Audience are encouraged to get involved right from the outset as the live stream gets underway with a stirring anthem and animation created especially for the occasion.

This will be followed by a socially distanced dance piece, I Move the Air, by Linzy Na Nakorn and Alice Phelps, performed in front of the striking landscape and offshore wind turbines of Redcar seafront.

Activities include stories, clouds spotting, creating an energy superhero, making sounds with broken tech, circus skills, watching a live fix-along, learning sign language, joining a poetry sisterhood, cooking with foraged plants and joining a jazz concert for under 5s.

Attendees of the virtual festival can also buy sustainable goods from independent traders.

Alongside the live stream are a series of free online talks and debates on some big sustainability issues of the day.

This ranges from green energy and fixing the food chain to how young people can take action to tackle the climate emergency.

Speakers include from Lush, Olio, Greenpeace, the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) and Extinction Rebellion.

Festival of Thrift director, Stella Hall said: “Our festival is all about coming together and having fun and, although it’s very sad that we’re not able to do that physically this year, our digital edition is packed full of fabulous content. We defy any family not to find something to do."

In keeping with its thrifty theme, the Festival of Thrift was rebranded as Thriftfest Upcycled earlier this year for its 2020 outing, after the large-scale annual event was cancelled due to the coronavirus pandemic.