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Scout List: This Week’s Curated Agenda Of Diverse Distractions

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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.

This 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

HALLOWEEN

The UBC Farm pumpkin patch still has an assortment of jack-o-lanterns ready for the picking. There’s a $5 pile of gnarlies, a $10 pile of OKs and a $15 pile of awesomes. U-pick is available during the farm’s hours, Monday-Saturday 9am to 5pm.

Dragging your costume-making feet? Hurry up. Value Village is an option, but it’s only the really grimy stuff left at this point. No problem, though, as Blim has the answer: “Ay Caramba! Make and customize your own Mexican wrestling (lucha libre) masks”. Eureka! Details.
Saturday, October 30 | 2-5 pm | Blim (115 East Pender ) | $60

Also on Saturday, the Parade of Lost Souls floats through the streets of East Vancouver. It starts around dusk at the Britannia Community Centre. Details at Public Dreams.

The Vancouver Cemetery also invites you by for a walk. Seems like an authentic sort of venue for a Halloween stroll.
Saturday, October 30 | 6pm | Free

Plus there’s the Jack O’Lantern’s Spooky Stroll at VanDusen. It’s “rain or shine”, though it would be extra creepy if there was shine (being an evening event and all).
Saturday, October 30 | 5-7 pm | $5 – 7.25

The Waldorf opening is a no-brainer. But a few of the other cool kids might have the same idea as you, so fashionably late isn’t advisable. The party starts at 6 pm and likely will already be at capacity at 6:01pm.
Saturday, October 30 | 6pm til late

If you’re so inclined, there’s also The Leeside All Hallows Eve Costume Skate Session here.

On the flip side, expect the Vancouver Police Museum to know how to creep things up. Check their website for the spooky scoop on their weekend events.

The 3rd Annual Family Halloween Dance is also happening this Sat (6:30-9pm) in the gym at the Strathcona Community Centre. The entire event is free, including face painting, family photo prints, cookie decorating, festive crafts and lots of boogie-woogie-ing. Not quite the cool factor expected at the Waldorf, but consider this a geographically convenient alternative if you can’t get in (snicker).

Seeing as the above event winds down a little early, make your way three blocks east to the Ukrainian Hall for cheap drinks and on-site Tickle Trunk! That’s always a good combo. Details from event organisers: “Looking for a spooktacular event this Hallowe’en weekend? (Maybe your usual house party has met an untimely renoviction?) Tickle Trunk Karaoke and Werewolves of Creston will ghost BAD SCIENCE for your monster bash pleasure. Experience the heart stopping terror of performing public karaoke, the hair raising howling good music of Werewolves of Creston, and indulge in cheap spirits (and we mean inexpensive drinks, not stingy phantoms). Be there or be scare! Booooohahahaha!”
Saturday October 30 |  8 pm – late | Ukrainian Hall (805 East Pender @ Hawks) | Tickets $10 at the Wilder Snail, 799 Keefer

FILM

Guess which low budget American horror film from 1978 is playing at the Rio? YES! It’s Halloween.
October 29 | 11:55 pm | Rio Theatre |$10

District 9 and Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy are running at VPL, for free…
Friday October 29 | 7 -9 | Vancouver Public Library | Free

The Sorcerer’s Apprentice is on at the Hollywood all weekend long, showing at 9:25pm nightly.

MUSIC

On Monday night, KT Tunstall plays the Commodore. Hook up with Zulu for tickets.

On Wednesday, Nov 3, Gorillaz take over Rogers Arena, Kate Nash plays at the Commodore and Zaac Pick (interview here) plays at Frederico’s on Commercial Drive.

And don’t miss the Stars and Young Galaxy at the Vogue. Craigslist is your best bet for tickets.

Next week the Biltmore has Soft Pack and Kurt Vile lined-up. I’m telling you now because you will want to grab tickets earlier rather than later. It’s gonna be a sell out.

Best Scout List tip of the week:  Kurt Vile is playing a solo acoustic set at Zulu Records next Friday (November 5 at 7:30pm).

SHOP

There’s a boutique warehouse sale going on today and tomorrow. Score stuff from Eden, Kiss & Makeup, LynnSteven, Oliver & Lilly’s and Violet.
Friday, October 29 + Saturday, October 30 | 10am-8pm | 564 Beatty

No time to whip up Halloween cupcakes? Don’t fret, just hit the Baker’s Market.
Saturday, October 30 |  11am-3 pm | back door at #115-408 East Kent Avenue S

Sunday is the Blim Community Market (at the Chinese Cultural Center this time around). 60 vendors will include food, fashion, accessories, supplies, fine art, vintage items and records, and crafts. Support local! A full list of who will be there can be found here.
Sunday, October 31 | 12 pm -5 pm | 50 East Pender | by donation

Vancouver Fashion Week breezes in to flaunt Spring/Summer collections. Get the full lowdown here.
Wednesday November 3 – Sunday November | The Landmark Hotel

There’s a shop-hop in Gastown next week. Look for red bows indicating participating shops. Word is our friends at LYNNsteven are pouring bub­bly and offering cup­cakes as well as mini-makeovers by Beau­ty­mark (along with 20% off Fall merchandise).
Thursday, Novem­ber 4 | 5pm to 9pm

LIT

CBC’s Grant Lawrence reads from his first book, “Adventures in Solitude: What Not to Wear to a Nude Potluck and Other Stories from Desolation Sound”. An event that will arm you with valuable advice for unique situations.
Monday, November 1 | 7 pm | VPL | Free

Scoot in to Vancouver Public Library to find out what’s wrong with Billionaires.
Wednesday, November 3 | 7 pm | VPL Main branch | Free

Sara Gruen, author of Water for Elephants, reads from her new book Ape House. Details on the Writers Fest website.
November 4 | Norman Rothstein Theatre (950 W 41st ) | $21

LECTURES

On Saturday night, Professor Barbara Sherwood Lollar from the Department of Geology at UofT discusses the question of whether or not carbon capture and storage can solve global climate change (courtesy of the Vancouver Institute). Find out more here.

The Museum of Vancouver offers a talk and tour of their current exhibit: Home Grown – Local Sustainable Food. The lecture is presented by FarmFolkCityFolk and the topic will be “Growing local grain and the first grain Community Shared Agriculture (CSA) in the lower mainland.” Find out more…
November 4 | 7:00 pm | MOV | Free with admission

Down at Emily Carr, the Presidents’ Lecture Series rolls on with Dylan Brown, the Creative Director of Pixar Canada presenting next Wednesday. My guess is Dylan has a thing or two worth sharing. Projects he has worked on include Toy Story 2, Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, Monsters, Inc. and The Incredibles. Not a bad resume! Anyway, hit Granville Island to hear him tell you about the whole ball of wax.
Wednesday, November 3 | 11:30am | ECUAD.

There’s a “Feast of Ideas and Experiences from Vancouver’s Thinkers and Doers”  at The Vancouver Playhouse Theatre on Wednesday night. Billed as a “fast moving and inspirational evening that will challenge, inspire and educate”, the program features: Tsawwassen Chief Kim Baird, leader in the First Nations treaty process, Graham Harrop, editorial cartoonist of the Vancouver Sun, Dr. Brian Day, former head of the Canadian Medical Association, Dr. Redouane Al Fakir, founder of Muhammed Institute of Space Science, Barbara Jo McIntosh, author and owner of Vancouver’s cook bookstore, Prof. Mark Wexler, renowned expert on ethics, Borealis String Quartet, Vancouver’s only resident string quartet, Donald MacPherson, drug policy expert, Mark Angelo, founder of the ecologically focused Rivers Institute, Jay Brazeau, one of Vancouver’s best actors, will provide brief readings throughout the evening. Sounds awfully like a Pecha Kucha night for older folks.
Wednesday November 3 | 7:30-9 pm | Vancouver Playhouse Theatre | FREE

Don’t miss CREATIVEMIX, “an interdisciplinary event bringing together industry-leading idea makers who share their experiences and explore a common thread of creativity and collaboration. We believe that it’s not our skill that makes us truly creative but it’s the way in which we practice and enjoy creating and sharing in community that makes us ‘creatives’. Bettering ourselves, and getting better connected with likeminded people, is what we call our creative mix and it’s invaluable to our careers, and lives.” Presenters include: Dylan Brown (Creative Director, Pixar Canada), Chan Hon Goh (Director, GOH Ballet), Sean Carter+Vida Jurcic+Nigel Yonge (Hangar 18 Creative Group), Kris Krug (Photographer, Social Media Consultant), Mark Shieh (Place Maker), Norman Armour (Executive Director, PuSh International Performing Arts Festival), Dan Mangan (Singer/Songwriter), and Natalie Purschwitz (Fashion Designer).
Thursday November 4 | 9:00am – 6:30pm | Roundhouse | $99 (Public Exhibition: 9 am – 4pm is free)

NATURE

Seed Saving in the City! Head to the DTES to brush up on your seed saving basics on Saturday. Get the skinny on the politics of seeds, ways to build a seed collective and how to select for good traits. Expect to chat about isolation distances, small business creation, and our local seed chapter.
Saturday, October 30 | 10-1 | Strathcona Community Centre | $30 (or pay as you can) | 604-713-1838 to register | Website

Birds of a feather can get grounded Sunday morning by joining naturalist and expert bird watcher Cathy Aitchison on a two-hour walk exploring Stanley Park’s varied bird life. Find out all about it here.
Sunday, October 31 | 9-11 am | Stanley Park

Ah, the sweet smell of honey! Learn to make “Beeswax Candles” in a hands-on workshop. “The class will focus on learning to make 100% beeswax candles with readily available inexpensive materials. You will learn to make tea lights, votives, floating candles and a square pillar. All participants will take home approximately $10.00 worth of candles and a chance to win the door prize.” Learn more here.
Thursday, November 4 | UBC Farm | 10:30am-12:30pm | $35

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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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