Festival of Thrift Volunteer 2025 (Billingham)

Festival of Thrift 2025

Billingham Town Centre and John Whitehead Park

Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st September 2025

Since 2012, Festival of Thrift has been a playground of possibilities for all ages, celebrating the power of thrift, the joy of creativity, focussing on a hopeful future we can build together for generations to come.

We are super-excited to showcase a wealth of European and UK interactive installations and performances that will connect you with nature, celebrate sustainability and engage your spirit of playfulness. We will present stylish slow-fashion catwalks, engaging speakers and a wide-ranging programme of hands-on workshops.

We want to work alongside people who share our values and our sense of fun! Why not join our festival this year as one of our Volunteers.

You will need to attend one of our online briefings on Thursday 4th September or Thursday 11th September 6:30pm

What will you be doing?

• Welcoming visitors to Festival of Thrift.

• Signposting visitors to performances, installations and speaker events taking place over our site.

• Assisting event managers to support performers and speakers before, during and after their performances.

• Moving around the site throughout the day to wherever artists, performers, speakers or attendees need your assistance.

• Supporting the event managers with changeovers and moving furniture, signage and equipment in the Talks Tent to accomodate our many wonderful guest panels and speakers.

• Assisting attendees with any access requirements

• Supporting the artists and makers with workshop preparation.

• Supporting workshop attendees before and during the workshop.

• Site dressing and helping us to make Beautiful Billingham even more Beautiful!

What skills are we looking for?

• Enthusiasm and a smile.

• A can-do attitude.

• Responsibility and reliability.

• A sense of fun.

• This role may require a lot of walking around the site. If you have mobility issues please let us know and we can plan to place you accordingly.

What's in it for you?

You'll be at the heart of Festival of Thrift and all that we do. You'll have fun. Meet new people and be part of a team. Connect with and support your community. Gain confidence and knowledge. Learn new skills and be inspired to share them. Discover many talented artists, performers and speakers and enjoy the fantastic spectacle as it unfolds all around you. Pick up loads of useful Thrifty Tips on how to live more sustainably. You can even enhance your CV!

We can pay your travel expenses, and you'll receive a meal or a meal voucher up to £10, when you volunteer for a day or evening shift

Once you have signed up to be part of Tees Valley Festivals Volunteering you will receive training in Customer Service, Health & Safety, Inclusivity & Accessibility and Carbon Literacy. You can get involved in some exciting creative community art and music workshops which will be running across the Tees Valley. You'll also be able to earn badges with the RSA's exciting Badge Nation Programme.

Age 16+