Kelowna's Arts Community to Help Raise Funds for Inn From the Cold Homeless Shelter

Winter is soon to be upon us and with it the colder weather. For most of Kelowna, at worst, the winter weather will be nothing more than a minor inconvenience. However, for Kelowna’s homeless population, the cold winter months can be a struggle to survive.

Kelowna’s Inn From the Cold, “a community that honors the inherent dignity of all, where individuals, especially the most vulnerable, are safe, respected and included”, strives to provide the most at risk members of Kelowna’s homeless community with a safe and warm place to stay through the harsh winter. The shelter, located at 1157 Sutherland Ave., only operates during the coldest months of the year - typically November to April.

The unfunded 35 bed refuge is gearing up for its 2013-2014 operation and is holding its fourth annual “Night at the Inn (Inncluded)” fundraiser to help raise much needed monies. Jordan McAlpine, Inn Home Support Coordinator for Inn From the Cold, explained the importance of the event, “The fundraiser is essential to the operation of the shelter. The Inn is unfunded, so we rely on the community support to provide this much needed service.”

The fundraiser sees Inn From the Cold team up Tribehouse, a Kelowna artist collective, and will feature a number of local artists showcasing their various talents in dance, spoken word, visual art and music. Music will be provided by The Trips, Andrew Judah, JoyfulDoor and The Creeks among others. Meanwhile, Ryan Dumas, a man who was once homeless himself, will be sharing his spoken word art. Artists from Kelowna’s heART school will be providing the visual art.

Describing the evning McAlpine stated, “Our organization started as a group of concerned citizens that cared for people experiencing homelessness and wanted to see change in our community. We strive to be true to our roots and involve as much of the community as possible. When people come together, we inspire, encourage, and motivate each other. This is a night to celebrate collaboration, raise awareness, and support those marginalized members of our community. We believe that community issues require community based solutions. We invite everyone to be a part of the solution. Plus, its going to be a lot of fun.”

“Night at the Inn (Inncluded)” takes place on Friday, October 18th at St. Michael’s Cathedral (608 Sutherland Ave.) The event begins at 7pm and the standard ticket price is $15 (minimum suggested donation). You can pick up your tickets online, or at the Inn from the Cold office (1187 Sutherland Ave.)

However, there are a couple of other ticket options available too. As part of their partnership with Inn From the Cold for the fundraiser, Tribehouse has put together a compilation record called Inn Cluded. The album features 12 local musical acts, such as Jimmy Balfour, Joshua Smith, Mark Irving, Andrew Judah and Nuuka among others. All of the artists featured on Inn Cluded donated their songs and time to the project. A $20 (minimum suggested donation) will get you entry to the event and a copy of the CD. You can check out, and buy, the record below:

The final ticket option includes entry to the fundraiser, a copy of the compilation record, supper and the experience of staying overnight at the Inn. The ticket price for this option is $125 (minimum suggested donation). Due to the size of the shelter, there are only 35 tickets available for this opportunity.

All proceeds raised from “Night at the Inn (Inncluded)” will go directly to the shelter.

Find out more about Inn From the Cold HERE.