Photos showcase early days of folklore festival

A treasure trove of previously unseen photographs that showcase the early years of a folklore festival have been revealed.

The images capture the spectacle of the Billingham International Folklore Festival (BIFF) from 1968 to the early 1970s.

The shots were all taken by keen amateur photographer Walter Crinnion before his death in 1974.

They show hundreds of performers who descended on Teesside in their national costumes.

Mr Crinnion's daughter Mary Gee, 76, said the festival had been in her family's blood ever since she and her two sisters had a chance encounter with a group from the Canary Islands who had been booked for the festival and had been performing at Billingham Trade Union Club.

"At the end of the night, they came out of the club," she said. "They might have had a few sherbets but they were singing and playing.

"And of course, as teenage girls it was a magnet and we were at the gate at the end of the garden path, hanging over and watching these people coming down the street, playing and singing and carousing."

She said it was "absolutely enthralling" when the performers serenaded the sisters.

Her dad found out about the encounter and invited the group inside for a cup of tea.

What followed next was dozens of Spanish performers piling into a council house, drinking countless cups of tea and forging a lifelong connection between the two cultures, according to Ms Gee.

Mr Crinnion then went on to become a part of the festival's volunteer stage crew and documented the early years of the festival.

The festival, which is celebrating its 60th anniversary, will this year run from 9 to 17 August.

It will feature dance troupes from across the world including Mexico, Indonesia and Puerto Rico.

Shows are "pay as you decide", a festival spokesperson said.

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