FindIt presents: The New Street Spoken Word Safari
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What’s new and old and everything in between on New Street in Inglewood

Join some of Calgary’s top spoken word artists for a fully immersive poetic experience set on one of Calgary’s best kept secrets: the storied and engaging lane known simply as New Street. Just one block long, this eclectic street boasts some of the city’s most intriguing homes, each with a story. Nestled along the Bow River, peacocks can be heard wailing from the Calgary Zoo as cats bound along the lawns and the friendly residents stop for a chat on the sidewalk.

From personal musings in front of historic homes, to lively poems about the legends and innovators who call New Street home, this spoken word event will draw people into the stories and ideas that make New Street such an enviable and vibrant place to live.

Starting at the stunning St. Stephen’s cathedral, guests will be greeted by event host and curator Roberta McDonald and a team of FindIt volunteers and led towards New Street where each poet will be posted at a secret location and recite their poem(s).

The evening will begin with a piece by Calgary’s 2012 Poet Laureate Kris Demeanor in front of Dawn and Rao’s majestic home on Major Stewart Lane. We’ll then move next door to Jake and Wendy’s house (designed by local hero and legend Jack Long) for Aaron Giovannone’s piece, which he will perform on a grassy knoll with the Bow River flowing in the background. The next poem will be shared by Caitlynn Cummings in front of a temporarily vacant lot, which is covered in flowers and clover. The final stop on this unique safari will be the home of Rosemary Griebel and she will share some of her award winning poetry from the steps of her heritage abode.

The evening will conclude with a free concert in Nellie Breene Park by the New Street band. All are welcome for this portion of the event and food trucks will be on hand for delicious food and drinks.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased at Reworks, Gravity, Zyn, and the Double L Bakery.

About FindIT: Find It is a new year-round series of “pop-ups” that will build on the quirky creative character of Inglewood & Ramsay, animate our streets and public spaces, engage professional artists, businesses and residents from the community and across Calgary, and bring more people to our inner-city village to share our lively history and culture.

About the performers
Calgary born songwriter Kris Demeanor delights in exposing the underbelly of western Canadian culture- gambling, drug use, murder, religion, the suburbs. His numerous CDs of original work explore the darkness and absurdity of these corners of Alberta life. With the Crack Band, he draws on dense spoken word, folk, and shamelessly hooky pop for audiences who like to laugh, dance, think and weep all at the same time.

While Kris’s music has taken him around the world performing, Kris has also become a fixture of Calgary’s spoken word, literary and theatre worlds, creating music and lyric for numerous award winning projects.
Career highlights include taking the award winning short film based on his song ‘I Have Seen the Future’ to the Sundance and Toronto film festivals, collaborating with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra on the 2011 event ‘Acres of Dreams’, and sharing a beer with David Byrne.
He has recently been named the first Poet Laureate of the City of Calgary

Caitlynn Cummings has an MSc in Creative Writing from the University of Edinburgh and writes poetry, fiction, and drama. She is also the Managing Editor of the Calgary literary magazine filling Station. Her work can be found in the Scottish magazine Drey (Red Squirrel Press), Two in the Bush (Blurb), Migratory Words Vol. 4, and everywhere else you least expect it. Follow her on Twitter @Tartaned_Maple

Aaron Giovannone is a poet mostly. He is also a translator of poetry from Italian. Originally from St. Catharines ON he now studies at the University of Calgary and works a little at ACAD. He likes living in Sunnyside where the train is close and so are his friends. He also likes being alone but not too much. As he wrote the biographical note for this reading, he wondered about the use of the 3rd person and if the "self reflexive thing" was too cute.

Rosemary Griebel Rosemary Griebel’s award-winning poetry has appeared in The Best Canadian Poetry in English, on CBC Radio, literary magazines, anthologies, chapbooks and on public buses. Her long awaited collection of poetry, Yes., was published by Frontenac House in 2011, and was short-listed for two national and one provincial award. She lives in Inglewood with her husband and two cats and is currently working on a project to build a bold, new Central Library in Calgary’s East Village.

New Street New Street performs music with a unique sound, spanning many musical genres ranging from funk and roots to disco. Clarinet, melodica, harmonica, banjo, guitar and bass accentuate three part harmonies to create a sound that appeals to a diverse audience. New Street has enjoyed playing Calgary pubs, benefit concerts, the South Country Fair and is an Inglewood house party favourite. Check out their music here: http://ca.myspace.com/newstreetband