Frugal family fun at the Festival of Thrift

Summer may be slowly drawing to a close, but the festival season just keeps on running – hooray!

This September 26th-27th the Festival of Thrift returns for its third year of frugal family fun. The free festival, taking place at Lindfield Point in Darlington, promises a packed programme of sustainable living ideas and inspiration that can help save you money too.

Festival of Thrift Fashion by Tracy Kidd
Festival of Thrift Fashion by Tracy Kidd

The eclectic event will feature well-known ‘scrimpers’, leading and emerging artists and musicians, plus special installations, demonstrations, debates, workshops and stalls offering upcycled, recycled, sustainable and of course thrifty goods to help people towards a happier, more sustainable way of life.

The Festival (winner of the Arts & Culture award at the Observer Ethical Awards 2015) aims to show people how reusing, recycling and upcycling can be fun, save them money and benefit the environment at the same time. This year’s programme features leading and emerging artists from across the globe, demonstrations, stalls and workshops to offer thrifty advice, tips and tricks.

ETHICAL FoT Shane Waltner by Tracy Kidd
Shane Waltner by Tracy Kidd

Highlights include:

  • OxGlam – Michael and John from Oxfam Dalrington and Oxfam Durham demonstrate how to look stylish and original with vintage, second-hand and upcycled clothes. Catch their fashion show using trends through the decades.
  • The Urban Playground, STEAM – Street theatre like you’ve never seen before! Urban Explorers discover a locomotive and take you on a journey through its life, fusing parkour, dance and slapstick comedy.
  • Olivier Grossetete, The People’s Tower – See French artist Olivier Grossetete launch the Festival by rebuilding the rail station clock tower in Market Square in Darlington Town Centre, made entirely from cardboard box ‘bricks’.
  • Ministry of Bicycles, Bomberdrome – This ‘Bicycle Wall of Death’ features five riders, performing tricks of daring do. Thrills, spills and plenty of mild peril all add up to make this a bicycle spectacular.
  • Folk Dance Remixed – A unique remix of Maypole, Clogging, Ceilidh, Street, House and Breakdance with a hint of African & Bollywood… to a live soundtrack of fiddle & beat boxing – this is Folk and Street Dance like you’ve never seen it before with a chance for you to dance!
  • Home Live Art’s Alternative Village Fete – Based on the British village fete, this extravaganza, featuring a range of original artists and creative groups, encompasses live and performance installations, live music, communal dance, craft, food and produce.
  • Darli – Darlie is an enchanting, artist-made, old wooden train carriage stuffed with stories, images, sounds and scenes for families to explore. Created by visual Artist Hannah Fox and Sound Artist Dan Fox, this is an enchanting and playful interactive sculpture, a curiosity box like no other.

 

This year’s theme is ‘Steam’ as the festivities will also form part of a weekend of celebrations for Darlington and the region as the town marks the 190th anniversary of the world’s first steam passenger train, which travelled between Stockton and Darlington in 1825.

Bobbin workshop by Tracy Kidd
Bobbin workshop by Tracy Kidd

Festival director, Stella Hall said: “Thrift is more than a trend – it’s here to stay, it’s a culture and a set of values to live by. The festival is certainly helping to get it engrained into the lives of people across the North East of England and beyond. Our thrifters are a community and the Festival is a great opportunity for them to get together and share what they do, while enjoying great entertainment and a free day out.”

After winning the Arts and Culture category of the Observer Ethical Awards 2015, festival organisers are poised for another successful year (40,000 festival-goers visited in 2014!). Thrifty living has never been so popular…

The Festival of Thrift takes place 10am to 5pm on Saturday 26th and Sunday 27th September 2015. Find out more about the latest programme at www.festivalofthrift.co.uk and register for updates.

Wonderfruit music festival to launch in Thailand

As the UK festival season draws to a close, we say goodbye to Glastonbury, see you later Latitude and bye-bye Bestival. But what if another eclectic, eco-conscious festival was yet to come? And better still, you can leave your wellies at home as this one will be set on a beach in Thailand!

It’s time to welcome Wonderfruit! This brand new music festival, from the people behind Wilderness, makes its debut in Chon Buri, a stunning tropical setting just outside Bangkok in Thailand. Wonderfruit takes place from 19 to 21 December 2014 with tickets on sale from 15 September.

Wonderfruit

Nick Mulvey, Seth Troxler, Hercules Love Affair and Fat Freddy’s Drop are all confirmed with more acts to be announced. A mix of Dance, Electro, Folk, Disco, Dub, House, Reggae, Punk and Techno will be played out across some lovely sounding stages including The Floating Stage and Lotus Gardens.

The festival promises to be eco-friendly and socially-conscious, promoting a lifestyle of health and sustainability. The ‘barefoot luxury’ ethos of the organisers’ current UK festivals will give you some idea of the kind of event to expect (at Goodtrippers we are desperately trying to find a diary gap for a pre-Christmas trip!).

Alongside a great musical line-up will be fine dining, health and well-being workshops, art, theatre, film and eco farming activities.

Nick Mulvey plays Wonderfruit
Nick Mulvey joins the Wonderfruit line-up

Jo Vidler, co-founder and director of Wonderfruit, said, “All too often, large-scale music festivals leave a scar on the land. Fields of mud, plastic, empty cans, discarded tents and more are left on-site with toxic toilet chemicals leaching into the soil. Wonderfruit actively looks to work with and improve the land it sits on using only natural and locally sourced materials for its structures and stages.”

Pete Phornprapha, co-founder of Wonderfruit said, “Since we own the land, we will be creating some permanent sustainable models for the festival, and the experience as a whole, to serve as an advocate for eco-friendly and sustainable ways. We want to help people understand that social responsibility and enterprising shouldn’t be viewed separately. Part of the proceeds will be used to create opportunities to ignite the movement through the year and not only at the festival.

“It is a long-term goal and this is just the start. We are working with the vest people in all relevant fields to make sure that the programme is developed properly over the years to better impact lives and values in society. And, of course, to celebrate and have fun.”

For more information about Wonderfruit, and to book tickets, visit www.wonderfruitfestival.com

 

Get down on the farm at the Purbeck Folk Festival

We love a good music festival and this little boutique gem is an award-winner!

The sixth annual Purbeck Folk Festival, on Dorset’s beautiful Jurassic coast, is the place to be this bank holiday weekend. From 21-24 August the award-winning music festival features headline acts including Eddi Reader, The South, Turin Brakes and Lloyd Cole alongside Nizlopi, Idlewild Acoustic, Sally Barker and British folk legend Chris Wood.

[gdl_gallery title=”Purbeck” width=”115″ height=”110″ ]

Festival goers can look forward to an eclectic mix of folk, world and pop music on a 600-acre working sheep farm in the heart of the beautiful Isle of Purbeck. Purbeck Folk Festival has music on four stages in the farm’s covered barns and a marquee venue that hosts the Purbeck Rising talent show final and open mic sessions.

Named the Countryside Music Festival of the Year in the prestigious Fatea Music Awards, as well as a line-up of well-known artists you can expect a dynamic bill of emerging and undiscovered talent including Emily Barker’s new band Vena Portae, folk legend Ashley Hutchings’ son Blair Dunlop, the Cajun powerhouse Sarah Savoy, multi award-winner Martha Tilston and Senegalese griot Amadou Diagne.

This family-friendly festival has a chilled-out vibe and offers loads of entertainment for all ages, including workshops, a poetry slam, spontaneous happenings, a cinema programme, the famous ‘beard offs’ contest, a beer festival (including the Festival’s very own beer, Buzz Lightbeer made with Purbeck honey), art interventions and a fancy dress parade.

Like all the best festivals, Purbeck Folk Festival likes to keep it green. All campers will be given recycling bags to collect their recyclable rubbish over the weekend; the composting toilets on site provide great fertiliser for the farm, and flush toilets use harvested rainwater. The organisers employ local tradespeople and try and reuse as much stored material as possible when constructing the new festival site each year, reusing lycra, bamboo, wood, paint, carpet and fabrics from previous years.

Snap up your tickets before 20th August: Weekend tickets (Fri-Sun) include free camping are on sale at just £100 (£50 12-17 years, £20 4-11 years, under 4s free). Day camping is available on Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday at £10 a night on arrival. A limited number of Festival day tickets are also available.

For ticket booking and more information, visit www.purbeckfolk.co.uk

Full line-up

Friday
Eddi Reader, Nizlopi, Martha Tilston Band, Furrow Collective, ODi, Dan Whitehouse, Moscow Drug Club, Flats & Sharps, Macaferri Club, Winter Mountain, Murphy’s Lore, Drew Allen, Big Tent & the Gypsy Lantern, Kadia, Beth Johnstone, Tim Somerfield, East Creek Union, Djambo, The Jack Ratts, Threadbare Ravens, Tred, Aimee McKenzie

Saturday
The South, Idlewild Acoustic, Sally Barker, Sarah Savoy, Phil King Band, Gigspanner, Martha Tilston Band, Roving Crows, John Langan Band, Gren Bartley Band, 4Square, ODi, Lizzie Nunnery, Louise Jordan, Threepenny Bit, Sarah Savoy (workshop), Sound of the Sirens, Macaferri Club, Big Tent & the Gypsy Lantern, Kadia, Mother Ukers, Catherine Burke Band, Feral Beryl, Kaia Vieira, Aimee McKenzie

Sunday
Turin Brakes, Lloyd Cole, Blair Dunlop, Emily Barker & the Red Clay Halo, Caravan of Thieves, Coco & the Butterfields, Chris Wood, Amadou Diagne Band, Gren Bartley Band, Vena Portae, Alex Roberts, Tinderbox, Polly Paulusma, Fearne, Aimee MacKenzie, Ian Brown, Will McNicol, Flats & Sharps, Gill Sandell, Emily Barker (solo), Tori Read, Kate Lomas, The Jimmy Hillbillies, Ceilidh Band, Quinns Quinney, Krista Green, Inu