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Scout List: On Entering The 1st Week Of Two Thousand & Eleven

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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…

FRESH AIR

It’s BEAUTIFUL out, so get yourselves outside. Walk the seawall, the beach, the trails. Head up to the mountains. Whatever. Just take advantage, because the rest of the winter will probably suck.

UBC lecturer Sonya Powell leads a walk through Stanley Park that explores evidence of logging in the park and examines turn-of-the-century technologies for extracting old-growth trees. More info here.
January 2 | 1:30 – 3:30 pm | Stanley Park Nature House (Lost Lagoon) | $10

The Festival of Lights at VanDusen Botanical Garden is still on (until Sunday). Get yourself bundled up and take in the 15 acres of festively lit gardens. Forecast is for sun. Just sayin’.
Until Sunday, January 2 | 4:30 – 9pm | VanDusen  (5251 Oak)

The Stanley Park Christmas train is also making its last rounds this weekend.
Until January 2 | 3:00 – 10:00pm | Stanley Park | Train: $9 Adults / $6 Kids

TALKS

The folks from Parks Canada get busy with an interactive, 45 minute historical tale about Yoho National Park’s spiral tunnels – an engineering feat that overcame the Rocky Mountains to connect our nation as a whole. Get the wiki on the park here.
Wednesday January 5 | 7pm – 8:30pm | Central Library (350 W Georgia)

The Vancouver Police Museum has a few interesting, adult-oriented classes going this coming week. Consider brushing up (no pun intended) on your fingerprinting techniques (Jan 5) and then delve into the world of bloodstain pattern analysis (Jan 7). Hot dates like these aren’t for everyone, but if it’s for you, get the details here.
January 5 | 6:30 – 8:30pm | Vancouver Police Museum | $15

Want to know where your local tax dollars are headed? Show up at the ‘special’ Council Meeting on the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund. Doesn’t sound like much of a rager, but decisions are made by those who show up.
Monday January 10 | 1pm | City Hall | Free – unless you count taxes

MUSIC

Zaac Pick and The Belle Game (with guest Riun Garner) play the Biltmore
Thursday January 6 | Doors 8 pm | Biltmore | $10

Wolves in the Throne Room, Gyibaaw, Ahna and Sick play the Rickshaw.
January 6 | No idea what time – but let’s say around 9 | Info

The Ruffled Feathers, Julia and her Piano, Thomas Kolb and Katie Schaan play the Media Club next week.
Thursday, January 6 |  8pm | Media Club | Info

Opera Pro Cantanti presents Bellini’s Norma, “a masterpiece of the Bel Canto period, and one of the most famous operas of all time. It tells the story of a Druid Priestess who forms an illicit bond with a Proconsul of the Roman army, thereby betraying her people and beginning a chain reaction of events that may lead to war. Bellini’s great work contains some of the most beloved music in all opera, including the glorious soprano aria, Casta Diva.” Since we’re all about illicit bonds with Druid Priestesses, we’ll probably be seeing you there.
January 2nd |  7:00pm | Cambrian Hall | $18

Legend Brian Eno comes to town. He’s slated to give a talk at the Vogue on January 10th. Details are here, but the short of it is this: “Musician, producer, ideologue, futurologist, visual artist, political activist – Brian Eno is a visionary and iconic figure within global contemporary culture; an innovative presence who has been at the forefront of creative thought for the past four decades. ” Sadly, iconic futurologists don’t come cheap. You’ll be looking at $65 per ticket. Nevertheless, it’s Brian Effing Eno, so probably a solid use of funds.
January 10 | Vogue Theatre (918 Granville) | $65

FLICKS

Easy A (7pm) and The Social Network (9pm) are playing out at UBC.
January 3 – January 9 | Norm Theatre, UBC SUB | $5

Coincidentally, The Social Network (7pm) and Easy A (9pm) are playing at the Hollywood. This is good news for those of you who really wanted to see Easy A but couldn’t make the 7pm show at UBC. Even better news for those of you who want to catch the 7pm showing at the SUB and then race over to the Hollywood for the 9pm. Crazy buggers.
December 31  – January 6 | 7:30 /9:40 nightly | Hollywood Theatre | Double features for $8!

Boogie Nights plays at the Vancity Theatre on Sunday. And when is a “freewheeling porn odyssey and a XXX-rated family film scored to a non-stop disco beat” not a good idea? Furthermore, when is Mark Wahlberg not a good idea? Say hello to your mother for me.
Sunday,  January 2 | 6:30 | Vancity | $11

ART

If you’ve given yourself a few days off to recover from the chaos of Christmas and you’re looking for something to do, consider taking a trip down to the Vancouver Art Gallery. James Kerry Marshall, Robert Adams and Emily Carr shows are all coming down over the next little while and this week is your last chance to catch them on the walls.

Check out an exhibition of collaborative and transient practices. 221A Artist Run Centre brings us Pact 19: Drop, a one-night non-juried exhibition of work by artists and designers. Some people worry that non-juried shows can be a bit, um, “out there” but we’re pretty sure that, given the crowd that tends to flock around 221A, this will be a good show. And if it’s not, it’s only one night. “Work is submitted one day prior to the event then installed the day of. The event aims to support the production and exhibition of collaborative and transient practices as well as nurture a participatory learning environment for artists, designers, curators, critics, volunteers, and the public. Submitted work is documented and compiled into an online publication that is released for free on the organization’s website.
January 7 – January 8 | 2:00pm – 8:00pm | 221A Artist Run Centre | Free

LOOKING AHEAD

Get this: Mr. Ray Villard of the Space Telescope Science Institute (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland) is coming to town to discuss the big question: When Will We Find Earth II—the First Inhabited Extrasolar Planet? Don’t want to miss out on THAT now, do you? More deets here.
January 14 | 8:15pm | Lecture Hall 2 | Woodward Instructional Resources Centre | UBC

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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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Transition Into 2024 with Some Quality Downtime

From our calendar to yours comes this carefully considered agenda of cool things we are doing, wishing we could do, or conspiring to do in Vancouver, from now until January 8th, 2024.

Scout List, Vol. 601

From our calendar to yours comes this carefully considered agenda of cool things we are doing, wishing we could do, or conspiring to do in Vancouver, right now.

Scout List, Vol. 600

From our calendar to yours comes this carefully considered agenda of cool things we are doing, wishing we could do, or conspiring to do in Vancouver, from March 30th to April 5th, 2023.

Scout List, Vol. 599

From our calendar to yours comes this carefully considered agenda of cool things we are doing, wishing we could do, or conspiring to do in Vancouver over the days and weeks ahead.