A FESTIVAL celebrating sustainable living is set to become a year-round campaign.

Emma Whitenstall has been appointed executive director at the Festival of Thrift, which is due to take place this year at Kirkleatham, near Redcar, on September 25-26, to expand its role as a year-round champion of sustainable living.

Following the success of the online versions of the event in 2020 and its recent Fix-it Fortnight campaign, she will focus on using digital technology to enable the community interest company to evolve further into a year-round operation.

Ms Whitenstall, who has a decade's worth of experience in the tech sector, said: “My digital background certainly came in handy with our first ground-breaking livestreamed digital event in 2020 and my experience and network will also allow me to explore what technology Festival of Thrift can utilise to not only survive but thrive in the ‘new normal’."

She added: "Our digital transformation has already begun.

"Going forward technology will be crucial for allowing us to campaign and offer year-round support as well as exploring how emerging technologies can enhance our much loved September weekend event, both at the event itself and to widen accessibility in a creative and immersive way for those who cannot attend in person.”

She added: “The climate crisis is growing, and we all need to take action, now. In our back yards, in our living rooms, in our communities, every day. So we are no longer just an annual festival - though we are really looking forward to returning this September - but we are also becoming a campaigning organisation encouraging everyone to be a part of the solution – not part of the pollution!

“My new role as executive director is essentially to ensure the sustainability of the festival itself through fundraising, capacity building and robust governance. I have huge ambition for the festival’s annual event and the company that is behind it and I am very excited to get started.”

Festival of Thrift’s creative director Stella Hall said: “I am hugely excited about this next chapter in the evolution of Festival of Thrift, Emma brings fresh ideas and creative thinking and a passion for culture, sustainability and digital transformation.

“I look forward to sharing the leadership of the organisation with her and growing and learning new ways to engage people in our mission to build more sustainable and creative, resilient communities."

Festival of Thrift CiC was established in 2015 with a mission to benefit the community and advance public awareness of sustainable living. Now based in Redcar, it reaches new audiences across the UK and beyond year on year, building new partnerships with organisations that share its ethos.

The annual Festival of Thrift event is scheduled to take place at Kirkleatham, Redcar on Saturday 25th and Sunday 26th September 2021.