JINGLE BELL ROCK 2008

 

THE UNION, X92.9 AND EXCLAIM! MAGAZINE ARE PLEASED TO PRESENT

JINGLE BELL ROCK 2008

featuring METRIC
and TOKYO POLICE CLUB

With THE DEARS, SEBASTIEN GRAINGER & THE MOUNTAINS
and DJ MIKE RELM

Friday December 19 - MacEwan Hall

2500 University Dr. N.W., University of Calgary, Calgary, AB
Show 6:30 PM – all ages welcome – general admission
Tickets $38.50+ S/C  on sale SATURDAY NOVEMBER 1 at 10 AM at Unionevents.com,
all Ticketmaster outlets, charge-by-phone (403) 777-0000, online at Ticketmaster.ca,
limited tickets available at Megatunes and Sloth

A PORTION OF TICKET SALES WILL BENEFIT THE DOORWAY (formerly The Back Door)

 

‘Tis the season to rejoice, and spread some good cheer! The JINGLE BELL ROCK 2008 tour brings together some of Canada’s greatest indie bands for a common goal, to raise awareness about youth in distress. Leading the way is METRIC, a band with a strong commitment to social justice. The band is taking a break from finishing their highly-anticipated new album – due for release in early 2009 – to blitz across the country with a message of hope and action. Joining them are the incredible TOKYO POLICE CLUB, who are wrapping up a phenomenal year of tour and critical acclaim for their full-length Elephant Shell. Rounding off the line-up are transcendent alchemists THE DEARS, and fierce popster and ex- DFA 1979 SEBASTIEN GRAINGER and his band THE MOUNTAINS. Finally, threading the evening together, is

American multi-media DJ sensation MIKE RELM.

 JINGLE BELL ROCK was created in 2005 by Alberta-based event promoters The Union, as a way to say thanks to music fans in the region, and raise funds for youth in distress. Its debut at Edmonton’s Shaw Conference Centre, headlined by Rise Against, was a sold out affair, a feat repeated in subsequent years. Last year, in 2007, JBR added Calgary to the itinerary, and this year marks the next stage in the project’s evolution as it stretches across the country.

 To help draw attention to the tour, METRIC will offer fans a free download of a brand new song, entitled Help I’m Alive, through their website ilovemetric.com, starting Tuesday October 28.

A production of The Union – www.unionevents.com

One of Calgary’s Most Effective Non-Profit Orgs is Evolving

The Back Door is community supporting youth in their transition from street to mainstream living. 7 out of 10 participants succeed.  2008 marks The Back Door’s 20th year of service to Calgary and long-term street dependent  young people in our city. What’s even more remarkable than two decades of uninterrupted support is that over 70% of participants who commit to the 24 month BackDoor contracting program get off the street. For good. 

To mark this milestone, on Tuesday, October 28th at 11:30 a.m. on the steps of city hall, The Back Door will be presenting to the people of Calgary - through alderman Joe Ceci - a gift of thanks “for believing in young people”. They will also be officially announcing an evolution of their current identity. The BackDoor will now be known as The Doorway.

Marilyn Dyck, co-founder and the Executive Director of the BackDoor, explains the need for the change:  “The street is not just where these important young people live, it is a culture and how they think. As community and young people listen and learn together, they have shown us that a door sometimes gets in the way of the exchanges between people and ideas. “The BackDoor” was the beginning of a process that has grown much larger. A “doorway” offers ease in the transitions from one space to another. Young people who succeed make choices to move from the culture of the street to safer

, healthier and managed life style options. THIS is what we are about. THIS is the transition we facilitate. We saw the need to better reflect these truths and we believe our new identity ‘The Doorway’ strikes a perfect balance between who we are now, the heritage of how we became that, and the vision we have for our continued growth.  We did not want to abandon our name, we wanted to evolve it.”

 The new tagline of The Doorway -- ‘Transitioning to Choice’ -- echoes the organization’s philosophy. Personal transitions do not just happen for young people; they are the experience of the community people who participate with and support us. By understanding the organization’s purpose, volunteers, employees, donors and the board of directors all transition to a commitment and belief in young people and to choices of support that end up making the difference in the futures of these young people. 

From Halifax to Victoria

Multi-Faith Walk Against Violence Reached Victoria, B.C.

Closing ceremony at the parliament building today at 3:00 PM

Imam Syed Soharwardy will dip his feet in the Pacific Ocean

Yesterday the historic Multi Faith Walk Against Violence reached its final destination, Victoria, British Columbia where a closing ceremony for the cross country walk against violence will be held at 3:00 pm today at the Parliament Building.  

 

The walkers, lead by Imam Syed Soharwardy, are walking on highway #17 south. They have now completed more than 6,470 km of their cross-country walk. The walkers began their walk on April 20^th at the docks of Halifax and today they will end their walk in Victoria by dipping their feet in the Pacific Ocean.

 

Monday, October 27 at 3:00 pm, a Multi-Faith gathering hosted by the Victoria Multifaith Society will be held at the Provincial Parliament in Victoria, B.C. to celebrate the completion of the seven-month-long, Canada-wide walk against violence. A number of faith and community leaders are expected to attend the gathering. 

 

A Community Potluck Dinner hosted and jointly organized by Canpak and Inter Cultural Association of Greater Victoria with Imam Syed Soharwardy - leader of the Walk Against Violence - will be held on Monday October 27th 2008 @ 6:00-8:00 PM at the Inter-Cultural Association of Greater Victoria,930 Balmoral Road- 1st Metropolitan Church (corner Balmoral and Quadra).

 

The Walk aims to raise awareness about the dangers, and the consequences of using violence to resolve conflicts. The concept of the dignity of life, “Save a life, save humanity”, is sacred to all faiths, and it is this concept which unites their followers.  The Walk is also a graphic representation of the fact that faith and faith leaders, far from being an impediment to conflict resolution, can be a powerful and valuable resource – especially when faith groups work together!

 

Syed Soharwardy, the leader of the walk, and the founder of Muslims Against Terrorism, has made a commitment to walk the entire length of the route across Canada.  Other faith leaders, who will be joining him along the way, have made their own resolutions as to the distances they will be walking. 

JaZzY JAzz

Fast Forward Readers Choose Calgary's Best

For 11 years now, Fast Forward readers have been voting for the city’s favourite people and places in their annual Best of Calgary readers’ poll. The votes are in, the people have chosen. Roll out the red carpet for 2008’s Best cause of Calgary - The Back Door.
The Back Door placed second just after the Mustard Seed as Fast Forwards readers' choice for best cause in Calgary.

Thanks FFWD!

To see the full results click HERE

Worth His Weight in Dimes!

Roger Kingkade and the X92.9 fm morning crew is at it again bringing awareness to The Back Door. Roger has to raise $10,000 for The Back Door this year after losing a bet with Fraser over the out come of the Flames/ Sharks series.
After successfully auctioning off a cake the crew would like to know how much Roger would be worth if he were made of dimes. Roger is asking for help collecting 153lbs of dimes at which point he will calculate just how much he would be worth in dimes. The money raised will be donated to The Back Door.
The Back Door's mission is to assist young people exiting the street culture in becoming self-sufficient and engaged members of society while also engaging members of the community like X92.9 fm as partners in this transition.
More about Roger and the X92.9 morning show

Walk Against Violence Continues

Greetings to all of you!

On May 6^th, the Multi-Faith Walk Against Violence completed 630 kilometres of its cross-Canada walk. The last notable stop for the walk was Edmundston, New Brunswick, where Syed Soharwardy was interviewed for a New Brunswick wide broadcast. This part of the journey was not always “smooth sailing”. The flooding in New Brunswick was witnessed first hand by the walkers, who also met with some of the flood victims. One day will certainly be remembered by the group as the day they walked 35 km in the rain. As the core group were mainly “prairie chickens” from Alberta, nobody had remembered to bring a pair of Wellington boots! The walkers had, however remembered to bring their bear bells, and that was fortunate. At one point along the route, they were stopped by members of the RCMP who asked them if they had seen a dead bear. They had not, but they walked on – not really put at ease by the information that bears were common in the area. The next day they did happen upon the carcass of an immense bear stretched across the road. Syed reported that it took up around 8 to 10 feet of space and would certainly have been taller than a man had it been able to stand upright. The walkers were sorry the bear was dead but thanked Almighty God they had not met up with it while it was still in the land of the living! Misadventures notwithstanding, the walkathon members have declared themselves “healthy and in good spirits” - and now walking an average of 40 km per day.

The walkathon members were impressed by the fact that the dampness of the weather had no apparent effect on the warmth of the response from the public. People waved and honked their horns in encouragement, and some took the time to accompany the faith leaders for short distances along the way. The walkers related how they were impressed by the woman who came out of her house to greet and thank them for doing their walk, and how a senior citizen arrived to take their photographs. Sometimes they were officially welcomed by municipal officials. In Sackville and Amherst, the deputy mayors presented the team with souvenirs.

Now they are in Quebec. Culture differences have already shown up in New Brunswick, with the French language increasingly used as the walkers approached Quebec. Despite this fact, at least one Francophone radio station has taken the trouble to interview them.

As the walkers traverse Quebec, they do so with the awareness that “la Belle Province” is now celebrating 400 years of existence. The colourful past of Quebec shows up in many of the place names along the route Multifaith Walk. The walkers will be passing towns with names like Notre-Dame-Du-Lac (Our Lady of the Lake) and St. Louis Du Ha!Ha! on their way to Riviere Du Loup, or the river of the wolf – so named, according to one story, because of the seals that could once be seen in large numbers along the waterways.

In keeping with the message of the Multifaith Walk Against Violence, we would like to remind our readers that May 5 to May 11 is Elizabeth Fry week. We salute the Elizabeth Fry Society, a nationwide organization working to help women and girls in the justice system.

On a lighter note – CBC radio informs us that May 9 is also Lost Sock Memorial Day – no doubt our cross Canada walkers have been through enough socks to make this day relevant, too!

hindu

jew

Christ

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sikh

Linda Zachri

Media and Public Relations Coordinator

Raw Material

The Back Door would like to thank RedBull and Goodfoot for the donation of proceeds from the 2007 Raw Material Contest, a contest for up and coming Calgary artists to work on large scale installations with established street artist KWEST.

To Check out a video of the event Click Here.

Across Canada Multi-Faith Walk Against Violence

Historic Anti-Violence Walk Completes First Milestone

Today, the Multi-Faith Walk Against Violence passed its first Milestone by completing the walk across Nova Scotia. This morning the members of the Walkathon visited the Amherst, Nova Scotia Town Hall where the Deputy Mayor of Amherst welcomed the members of the Walkathon and presented them with souvenirs. After a brief ceremony at the town hall, the team resumed the walk. They crossed the boarder into New Brunswick this afternoon.

The Walkathon arrived in Sackville, New Brunswick where Sackville’s deputy mayor welcomed the team at the town hall and also presented them with souvenirs.

Tomorrow, Saturday April 26, the Walkathon will be arriving in Moncton, New Brunswick. The members of the Walkathon will be available for a media briefing outside the city hall (in case the city hall is closed).

The Walk is expected to end in Victoria, B.C. by October/November, 2008.

For any questions, please contact Syed Soharwardy at 416-994-5467 (leading the walk).

Project Homeless Connect

April 26th, 2008 at the TELUS Convention Centre, Calgary, AB

On Saturday, April 26th, 2008, from 9:00am to 4:00pm, the Calgary Homeless Foundation will be hosting Project Homeless Connect, a one day event at the TELUS Convention Centre that will bring together over 50 service agencies and organizations and more than 300 volunteers, to deliver services to over 500 homeless individuals in Calgary. Calgary is a large and busy city and accessing services is often one of the principle challenges faced by homeless individuals. Project Homeless Connect will eliminate that challenge by bringing the services together under one roof. Based on a program currently being implemented in over 130 cities around the world, Project Homeless Connect is about delivering services on site the day of the event. Individuals will have access to medical services, mental health and addictions counseling, housing, obtaining identification documents, income support, employment opportunities, comfort kits containing personal items, hot meals, clothing and more.

Speaker Event: Gabor Maté M.D.

Dr. Maté's Biography

X92.9fm, Proud Back Door Sponsors

Ginette Sowerby, Marketing and Promotions Director from X92.9 presents Back Door Executive Director Marilyn Dyck with a check for $11,000, proceeds from X92.9's 2007 Xposure CD featuring the best of Calgary's up and coming musical talent.

X92.9fm

Addictive Poison

Sweetened venom courses through veins
twisting, turning caught in chains
of love, hate and all the rest
ask the dead they know best
Don’t break the habit of breaking me
So I can show these scars for all to see
Let us change this us to we
and keep spreading your poison all through me

addicted to your poison and caught in deadly trance
one two three, one two three
a hypnotic anarchy dance
one two three, one two three
Don’t stop, slow down, keep in beat
beating your deadliness all through me

Addicted to your suicidal tendencies
your venom is all my dependency
Stop through dancing and chains still move
Your hurting enough with nothing to prove
Don’t break the habit of breaking me
So I can show these scars for all to see
Let us change this us to we
and keep spreading your poison all through me

addicted to your poison and caught in deadly trance
one two three, one two three
a hypnotic anarchy dance
one two three, one two three
Don’t stop, slow down, keep in beat
beating your deadliness through me…

Zander

Child Survival and Development Initiative

From "Morning Round Up" 01/22/08 MidnightPoutine

UNICEF has praised Canada's participation in innovative child programs . Canada partly finances the Accelerated Child Survival and Development Initiative, which provides help to around 17 million people in several African countries. Between 2002 and 2006, studies showed that the program helped reduce child mortality rates by 20 percent in the communities that had access to it. According to UNICEF, child mortality rates have greatly declined; in 2006, 9,7 million children died as compared to almost 13 million in 1990. Prime Minister Stephen Harper has promised to double Canada's aid to Africa, where 27,000 children aged 5 and under die preventable deaths every day.

Illegal To Be Homeless In Calgary

November 20th, 2006 by Simon Barrett

There have been a number of reports produced over the past year that detail the lengths that some cities are going to resolve the homeless situation. Unfortunately the solutions mainly seem to revolve around the concept of making homelessness an illegal activity, rather than getting to the heart of the issue and actually trying to fix the problem.

Of course the legislation does not usually specifically mention the homeless, it is usually thinly disguised as an inner city revitalization, or as an attempt to make the streets a more family oriented environment.

In January 2006 The National Coalition for the Homeless released a comprehensive report detailing the activities of over 200 US cities.

Calgary has now joined this growing list of cities that has decided that the best way to solve the problem is to make it an offense. In classic style no mention is made of the homeless in the legislation, but you would have to be blind, or have spent the last 50 years living on Mars to not see who this legislation is aimed at.

To draw attention away from the main purpose of the legislation much is made of how it gives the police better tools (bigger fines) for people fighting and being disorderly in public. Calgary is an Ice Hockey city, and the fans can get a little rowdy during the playoffs, is the official reason.

However when the layers are peeled back on this new Calgary law it is clear that it is far wider in scope than dealing with a few drunk hockey fans fighting after a game, it is definitely targeted at the homeless.

For example, it makes it illegal to sleep in a public park. Well I am pretty sure that this is one item that is going to be selectively enforced. If you are well dressed, on your lunch hour, and decide to have a ‘cat nap’, I’ll just bet the police will not bother you. If on the other hand you have a couple of bags, maybe your clothes are a little scruffy, you haven’t shaved today, well I’ll just bet you are going to get a $100 ticket.

You can rack up another $100 ticket for putting your feet up on a public bench. While I think common courtesy says that you should not do that, I am not sure that it warrants a fine. Once again I can see this bylaw being selectively enforced. My wife suffers from some pretty serious back problems, and if she got a ticket for putting her feet up on a bench, I would be pretty annoyed (and it would not be at her!).

One of the problems I have with this kind of law making is that the people it targets are the people least able to fight it.

The other glaring hole in this kind of ill thought out law making is ‘where is the gain’? You can hand out a thousand tickets for these stupid infractions, and exactly how many of the offenders are going to pay the fines? The answer is none.

The next time, or the time after that, there will be a bench warrant outstanding. So the police will do their duty and arrest the person. They will likely keep them in jail overnight, and stick them in front of a judge the next day. The judge will schedule a court date, and the perpetrator of this heinous crime goes free, till the next time.

It is going to be impossible to collect on these fines. Why even try to fine people that obviously have no money? This is going to have the exact opposite result to the intention, this new criminalization of the Calgary homeless is going to cost money, lots of tax payers money. Of course the City Council will just raise taxes to cover the problem!

This is just classic stupid politics. It makes me embarrassed to think that we voted these people into office. Grade 2 math shows that this is a mistake!

Simon Barrett