THOUSANDS of people spent the weekend learning about living a thrifty lifestyle when a popular festival returned to the region.

The Festival of Thrift, the brainchild of designer Wayne Hemingway, who attended this year's event at Kirkleatham Museum, near Redcar, bring together lifestyle lessons, street theatre and good food all with an environmentally-friendly message.

Organisers said themes for this year's event were designed to offer new journeys of discovery into how people can live sustainably together through thought-provoking performances and the festival’s special mix of hands-on fun, food, music, and dance, together with a host of ethical traders.

Darlington and Stockton Times:

Learning to cook over an open fire

Amongst the fun and games people were able to try their hand at a variety of craft skills including learning how to cook over a campfire or repairing broken electrical gadgets.

Martha Hodgson, who was at the festival with her three children, said: "There is always of much to do for everyone – the kids loved the dancing and the food."

And Tony Edwards, who had travelled from Thirsk, said: "This is the first time that I have been to an event like this but it has been a really good day. I have really enjoyed watching people making things from scratch – it's been a really interesting day out."

Darlington and Stockton Times:

A cow-car, pictured above, and a colossal canary were just two of the unusual installations that popped up over the weekend highlighting the festival's 'clean air' message.

Artists came together to create thought-provoking artworksfor the second VIEWPOINTS proj ect, which will see installations appearing across the Tees Valley until Thursday.