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

First off, the skies will be buzzing, the streets will be burning, and there will be much dancing.

Art and Sole goes down at the Ayden Gallery on Friday night. It’s a traveling show made up of works by a diverse group of painters, sculptors, illustrators, graffiti artists and conceptual artists that share a common subject: the shoe. Get the full scoop on Art and Sole here.

Join local resident and house historian James Johnstone for a tour of Strathcona North. Learn about R.H. Alexander’s Milltown, Japantown, the Alexander Street Red Light District and the site of some of Vancouver’s bloodiest labour disputes. History rocks. Find out more here.
August 14 | 10am | Meet @ parking lot of 611 Alexander Street | $15

Artful Sundays take shape on Commercial Drive. Check out work by local artists, listen to live music, take part in workshops, enjoy a demonstration. It’s free, so what’s stopping you?

Don’t miss the madness of the 11th Annual Vancouver Chinatown Festival. This year is Chinatown’s 125th anniversary and if you thought the hood was crowded on a regular weekend, hold on to your chopsticks! Expect food stalls, historic walking tours, multicultural stage performances and more.
August 14 & 15 | All day | Columbia & Keefer |FREE

Scout Vancouver Chinatown Festival tip: Hit Wild Rice for a break from the crowds. We suggest oyster mushroom and kabocha squash ravioli or the spicy free range chicken Kung Pao. Bonus: the place just underwent a complete scrub. See its gorgeousness sparkle anew!

If you’re looking for something a little less frenetic – try shrooms. Learn how to grow three species at Strathcona Gardens this Sunday. Participants will inoculate logs with shiitake mushroom dowels, recycle old phone books with oyster mushroom spawn and put together a bag of ‘garden giant’ spawn to mix into your garden for fresh, edible mushrooms every Spring and Fall. I seriously can’t think of a cooler thing to do with your Sunday afternoon. Good stuff.
August 14 | 1 – 3:30 pm | Strathcona Community Garden | $50 for supplies (the instruction itself is free) – [Limit of 8 people] | Email Dylan for more information: [email protected]

Another solid skill-building event is the Cob Oven Building Workshop with the Mud Girls at the Richmond Sharing Farm. “At $50, this 3-day workshop is “dirt cheap”! (thanks for the heads up Keiko)
Find out more (and you really should because cob ovens are super awesome) here.

Or, if you are looking for something more manicured, there’s always lawn bowling. Try the PIMMS Classic Lawn Bowling Event at the QE park. Fedoras are encouraged, but not by us. Details here.
August 14 | 6:30 pm | Vancouver Lawn Bowls, Queen Elizabeth Park | $30

Or sit in on a honey Bee workshop. See live bees…taste fresh honey! Long Live The Honey Bee!
August 14 | 11 am–4 pm | Richmond Nature Park | FREE

New Brighton Park has it going on all day Sunday. Vancouver Urban Spaces Initiative wants to “bring people together, to embrace [their] surroundings, and to give people a different way to experience art.” Dig it.
August 15 | 2pm – dusk | New Brighton Park | FREE

Park shakedown in the sunshine! On Sunday, August 15th , Pivot is hosting the third annual Justice Rocks music festival in Strathcona Park! FREE live music shows, interactive social justice presentations and festival fun 1pm until 8:30pm.

As far as movies go, Eat Pray Love is out. So there is that…but heads up…everyone seems to agree it’s a pretty crap movie, so don’t get your hopes up. There is only so much Javier Bardem can do. And so…Animal Kingdom is playing at the Ridge and promises a bit more substance. And if you’re looking for a cool retro gig, slip in to the air-conditioned theatre at Pacific Cinamatheque on Sunday for Labrynth. Elsewhere, the outdoor movie opportunity of the week is ET in Harbour Green Park. Phone home.
August 13 | 8:30pm – 10 pm | Harbour Green Park (Cordova & Bute)

The 2010 Etnies AM Getting Paid Qualifier goes down at the Port Coquitlam Skatepark this Saturday. It’s a bit of a haul out there, but if you’re into skateboarding it should be good watching. Details.

And if you have the time and feel like skipping town, the Sunshine Coast Festival of the Written Arts is a nice option. Nino Ricci is sold out, but there are other fine events with tickets still available.

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: Saturday | 9am – 2pm | Trout Lake
West End:  Saturday | 9am – 2pm | 1100 Block of Comox
Dundarave: (West Van)  Saturday | 9am – 2pm | Between 24 & 25 on Marine
Ambelside: (West Van) Sunday | 10 am – 3pm | Parking lot behind Beachside
Kits: Sunday | 10am – 2pm | Parking Lot of Kits Community Centre
DTES: Wednesday | 3pm – 7pm | Thornton Park
UBC Farm Market: Saturday  | 9-1 | UBC Farm

LOOKING AHEAD

You might still be able to snag a ticket to see local author (The Cellist of Sarajevo) Steven Galloway chat with Alexander McCall Smith (The No. 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency) at St. Andrew’s on Monday night. Details here.

Vancouver-Mount Pleasant NDP MLA Jenny Kwan is hosting a ‘town hall’ meeting about Inner-city education cuts.
August 18 | 7-9 pm | Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House | FREE

Take the Main Street Magazine Tour next Thursday. Free readings, exhibits and performances held in various Main Street shops and cafes.

There is a pretty sweet skate flick screening at the Rio – FOR FREE!
August 19 |  7:30 and 9 |RIO | FREE

Oh – and Feast of Fields hits the Okanagan next weekend. Don’t miss it. It’s peach time! It’s gonna be so amazing. We’ll see you there!

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Michelle 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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