A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

Scout List: Owen Lightly Cooks For Kicks & Other Cool Beans…

Dona-Cata-2

The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit.

The Scout List is our carefully considered first rate list of super awesome things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours…

The Scout List

When I first began to build this week’s Scout List it looked like most of the city was out of town. Not a lot was in or on the books. But after a bit of digging, I turned up some pretty cool things, and here be what I got:

A few obvious notables…

First off – there are the fireworks. Spain throws down on Saturday night. Still high from their World Cup win, this should be a doozy of a show. Mexico then takes the stage on Wednesday night. I highly recommend hitting Mis Trucos, Lolitas or Dona Cata before you head to English Bay to take in this show. Last week Dona Cata had $4 margaritas flowing, and who can beat those $2 tacos?

Pride Week starts off this Saturday with a family-friendly picnic in the park. Theres a lot happening the following weekend and you’ll need your energy for Pride Parade and the Sunset Beach Beer Gardens. Check out the full list of events here.

Caribbean Days are a good reason to make your way to North Van. The free music series in Cates Park is another good reason.

There’s also the Mission Folk Festival.

And then digging a little deeper…

On Friday night there something called the Forest Symphony out at the UBC Endowment Lands.  Basically, you walk the trails of Pacific Spirit Regional Park while enjoying free music played by local musicians who are set up sporadically along the trail. It’s free, Frodo, so dig it. The walk begins on Clinton Trail across from the parking lot on 16th Ave (just west of Blanca).

I love a good lantern festival. Really, I love any kind of lantern festival, but this’ll be a good one, and even better if you get involved. I know Spain is planning to show Vancouver what fireworks are all about on the same night, but if you’re not excited about the sticky loud chaos of the crowd, this is a nice alternative. Illuminares is a celebration of community, art and light. The lantern precession begins in Storyeum in Gastown and makes its way out into Trounce Alley and around the Woodward’s site (thanks for the heads-up D).
July 24 | W2 Storyeum (151 West Cordova St) | 4 – 10 pm | FREE

Just up the street a stretch is the Chinatown night market. Again, I want to point out the fact that The Keefer has a kick-ass little patio that takes you right to the edge of the night market madness, madness that is only enhanced by Dani Tatarin’s thoughtful cocktail list.

If you’re looking for a way to enrich your relationship with the natural world, there are a few great opportunities to do so this weekend. City Farmboy is putting on a beekeeping workshop and the new Strathcona ‘creative commons’ space School of Chalk is offering two gardening workshops on Sunday, July 25th for those keen to get their hands dirty. The first, which runs from 10am to 12pm, covers Winter Gardening ($24) planning for those dark days of January (yes, you start now!), while the second, from 1pm to 4pm, deals with Soil Fertility. Get the full scoop here.

MGMT play the Commodore. Good luck with tickets if you don’t already have ’em.

The Obits and the Night Marchers play the Rickshaw. Zulu can hook you up with tickets. It will be loud.

Via Surfing Vancouver Island, get yourself to Railside Skate Park for the DC Nationals Vancouver Qualifier on Saturday. I know, its way out in PoCo, but it will be good.

Taxi Driver plays at the Vancity Theatre, and when is Taxi Driver a let down? You lookin’ at me? Get more info here.

Scout List Pick Of The Week:  “Owen Lightly Cooks His Heart Out”
If you are going to pick one thing to devote money and time to this week, Scout recommends taking the beautiful drive to Squamish on Tuesday evening for the Sunwolf Supper – “a special dinner celebrating all that is good and true in the world”. And take our word for it, Owen is dialed in to all that is good and true. Here’s a bit about the event from the Chef himself: “The menu will be four courses…with an Italian slant and include plenty of fresh, tasty vegetables from my landlord’s small farm, located nearby in the Paradise Valley. The location is amazing, sitting right next to the Chekamus river and under the shadow of the beautiful Tantalus mountain range.” Spectacular setting, locally sourced (sea-to-sky) food, and good people. You can’t go wrong. For more information on the Sunwolf Supper (including the menu), check Owen’s blog Butter on The Endive.

And speaking of food and all that is good and true – get your weekly shopping done at a farmers market this week. There are many locations to choose from and each market has a unique line-up of vendors. Here’s a quick round-up of good places to buy locally grown produce from good people!

East Side: July 24 | 9am – 2pm | Trout Lake | FREE
West End: July 24 | 9am – 2pm | 1100 Block of Comox | FREE
Dundarave (West Van) July 24 | 9am – 2pm | Between 24 & 25 on Marine
Kits: July 25 | 10am – 2pm | Parking Lot of Kits Community Centre | FREE
DTES: July 28 | 3pm – 7pm | Thornton Park | FREE
UBC Farm Market: July 24  | 9-1 | UBC Farm

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late-may-2009-169Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended Bond University in Australia and the University of Victoria before receiving her graduate degree in Library Sciences from The University of Toronto. She lives in beautiful Strathcona and enjoys wandering aimlessly through the city’s shops and streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy, and uncooperative camera.

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