Kris Demeanor makes beautiful music with Calgary Drop-In Centre

Some clients of the Calgary Drop-InCentre are taking part in this year's Sled Island festival.

Alongside the centre's artist-in-residence, Kris Demeanor, they'll perform an original work of music and poetry on Saturday night.

Named after the 1975 Bob Dylan song, Shelter From the Storm, theperformanceis a window into the everydayreality of Calgary's homeless community.

"We're talking about some of the lifestyles of some of the bottle pickers out there," said Mark Sims, a client of the Drop-In Centre involved in the show.

"It gave me an opportunity to share the stories of my neighbours. And there are some tragic stories."

Sims, who is a songwriter and has competed in several amateur karaoke contests, gave Calgary Eyeopener listeners a preview of the showon Friday morning.

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KrisDemeanor says his goal for the project was to try andexpress as many different themes and stories about life on the streetsas possible.

"There's nothing that debunks misconceptions and shatters prejudices than very specific personal stories. And that's what I think we've really managed to tap into."

Sims says the projectalso allowed him to show his gratitude for the Drop-In Centre.

"We're really expressing how the Drop-In Centre has really embraced us and really embraced our situations. We all deal with many chemical and alcoholic dependencies where we need guidance."

Shelter From the Stormdebuts Saturday, June 27, on the sixth floor of the Calgary Drop-In Centre. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show startsat 7:30 p.m.