Overview

• Maggie Gee, a 75-year-old retired musician, has revealed her late father Walter Crinnion’s photographic archive documenting festival moments from 1968 to 1974.
• The newly opened collection highlights family participation and candid behind-the-scenes scenes from the Billingham International Folklore Festival of World Dance.
• Organisers have finalised visiting troupes from Canada, Indonesia, Mexico, Montenegro, Puerto Rico and the USA for the August 9–17 anniversary celebrations.
• Support for the milestone event also comes from Stockton Borough Council and Arts Council’s National Lottery Project Grants programme.
• A crowdsourced digital archive initiative invites Tees Valley residents to contribute memories and materials to preserve six decades of cultural exchange.