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 agenda 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…

CULTURE

The Arthur Erickson Memorial Lecture in Architectural excellence goes down out at UBC this weekend. The Vancouver Institute presents the one and only Mr. Bing Thom, who will talk about The Transformative Power of Architecture (eggs sold separately).
Saturday, April 2 | 8:15 pm | Lecture Hall No. 2 in the Woodward Instructional Resources Centre | Free but Seating is otherwise first-come, first-served.

Unique Lives & Experiences presents an evening with Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert.
April 5 | 7:30pm | Centre for Performing Arts (777 Homer) | Tickets range from $45 up to $100

Make your way to Heritage Hall this Sunday for the annual Nifty For Fifty sale where everything from clothes and shoes to jewelery and otherwise awesome accessories are on sale for $50 or less. Everything on site will be vintage or made by local designers like Adhesif, Billy Would, Flightpath Designs, Forsya Boutique, Poodlebreath…(the list goes on and on and it’s all cool and Vancouver-made).
Sunday, April 3 | 11am–8pm | Heritage Hall (3102 Main) | Free

GROW

It’s time to get your butt in gear and sort your garden out. If you need a little inspiration (aside from the beginnings of irregular sunshine), consider the Seed Savers Garden Forum on Sunday at the Cottonwood Community Garden in Strathcona.
April 3 | 1-3pm |  Cottonwood Community Garden | (corner of Raymur and Malkin).

Seeds are the heart of our food system! Hit Renfrew Community Centre to score seed packages for your garden. Trades and donations of seeds (pesticide-free) are also welcome! More here.
Wednesday, April 6 | 10am – 3pm |  Renfrew Community Centre | Free

The Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival hits VanDusen this weekend. Not only will there be blossom viewing, but there will also be sake tasting, origami, ikebana demonstrations, a Haiku Invitational, geisha dances (rad!), tea ceremony, kimono demos and music. Proceeds to the Japanese Red Cross. Get the full story over here.
Saturday & Sunday, April 2 & 3 | 10am – 5pm | Van Dusen Botanical Gardens | $8

ART

So, lets get things off to a strong start in this week’s line-up of art events by drawing your attention to 221A and the art of the Merkin. MERKINtile is a five-week exhibition, performance, and temporary retail store specializing in the merchandising of ‘designer’, artist-made merkins. Yes, you read that correctly: ‘designer’, artist-made merkins.  Conceived by local Artist-Curator Kevin Hubbard, this exhibition draws attention to the “political bodies that inhabit public, private, non-profit, and commercial spaces by transforming 221A’s frontage and exhibition space into a spurious retail store that resembles a high-end lingerie boutique.”  Not familiar with the merkin? Giggle. Get the Wiki here.
April 1 | 8pm | 221A Artist Run Centre (221 E Georgia) | Free

The Waldorf Hotel just can’t stop pumping out enticing events. This week they launch Black and Yellow, a new gallery located in Room 106 of the hotel. This show is a year-round project space supported by The Cheaper Show, a massive one-night art event (this June 25) where all works sell for a uniform, affordable price of $200). “Its mandate is to research and exhibit emerging artists producing innovative and challenging work. The gallery is not limited to any particular media or disciplines and instead encourages diversity from show to show.” Black and Yellow opens with an exhibition of painting, sculpture and video called Warp Yarn, New Works by Simon Redekop (“an amazing soccer player”, Andrew tells me), Sean Montgomery, and Maya Beaudry.
The Opening Reception for this cool new space is on Friday April 1st 7pm-10pm

An opening reception for the Big Clever Gorgeous show goes down at Emily Carr on Friday night – it will be Big Clever and Gorgeous!
Friday, April 1 | 6-9pm | ECUAD | free

Catalog Gallery and Anteism Publishing present a collection of new work (large paintings, new prints, some drawings and a new book launch) by Other / Troy Lovegates. They’ll also be featuring an Anteism Publishing pop-up shop (with books and prints) for the month. DJ Take5 will be supplying the sounds and Vancouver will be supplying the crowds. Deets.
April 1 – April 24 | 6pm-late | Catalog Gallery (56 Powell)

The Barque of the Beast, a show featuring new paintings by Scott Lewis, opens at Blim. Lewis lives and works in East Van and creates some pretty sweet stuff. Check it out here and then hit here for the opening.
Friday April 1 | 8pm | Blim (115 E Pender)

Join Bruce Grenville on a curator’s tour of Walking + Falling as he elaborates on the work of Jim Campbell, Chris Marker and Eadweard Muybridge, and the different explorations of photography, film and electronic media.
April 2 | VAG | Free with your $19.50 admission

ENTERTAINMENT

The Biltmore is bringing in a Nirvana cover band to commemorate the anniversary of the passing of Kurt Cobain. And it doesn’t stop there: enjoy DJs playing your favourite grunge records and indulge in grunge drink specials (sounds terrifying). Come on everybody! Break out your flans! We’ll be seeing you there.
Tuesday, April 5 | Doors 8 | Biltmore | $5

Robert Silverman plays Beethoven at the Cellar, specifically “Hammerklavier” Sonata and Op.111, Beethoven’s last sonata for piano. Word is tickets may be hard to come by, but to join the waiting list call 604.879.9888.
Monday, April 4 | 8pm | Cellar Restaurant & Jazz Club (3611 W Broadway)

Opera Pro Cantanti presents Rigoletto, Verdi’s tragedy about fatherly love and revenge gone horribly wrong. It’s like Star Wars, but without Ewoks or space. More.
Sunday, April 3 | 7pm | Cambrian Hall (215 E. 17th) | $18

Don’t miss your chance to see The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde out at Green College this week. There is no cost to attend, but a reservation is required (limited spots available). To score a spot, call 604-822-1878. A non-perishable food item (or a suggested donation of $5) would be nice too. Oscar Wilde never disappoints, and what’s $5 but a can of beans?  More details here.
Wednesday, April 6 | 6:30-9:30pm | Graham House, Green College, 6201 Cecil Green Park Road, UBC

Veda Hille plays in concert under the cozy SweaterLodge installation at the Museum of Vancouver next Thursday. Veda will be performing selections from Field Study, a specially designed formal show for small theatres and art spaces. In 2000, she commissioned Vancouver video artist Shawn Chappelle to make a 50 minute video to accompany the music. The video, constructed from footage shot in the northern landscapes of Canada, with be projected on the sweater as Veda plays the grand piano. There will be a cash bar, and visitors can sit under the fleece and enjoy the installation and the performance, cabaret style.  Check out a Scout Q&A with Veda here.
Thursday April 7 | 7 pm | Museum of Vancouver | $20

GLUTTONY

Pick up provisions for the week at the Winter Farmer’s Market: fresh locally grown veggies and treats like carrot cake from Pure Bread and kickass crepes from the crepe people. Also stock up on dried apples and fruit leather, and buy eggs and fresh greens (stinging nettles are in season and are so good for you!). Get over there and support your local farmers and food artisans!
Saturday, April 2| 10am – 2pm | East Parking Lot/ Nat Bailey

Sean Heather blesses Vancouver with some roast beef with Yorkshire pudding and roasting jus, plus a 16 oz Fullers Extra Special Bitter for a mere 16 beans. The man is a savior.
Sunday, April 3 | 7pm | Salty Tongue | $16

The Vancouver International Playhouse Wine Festival continues. Check-out the full line-up of events here.
Now – Sunday, April 3

Joy Road Catering is in town. I know, Cam and Dana are super awesome and the city just feels more alive when they’re in it, right? Thing is, there is not always enough of them to go around. Problem solved! On Monday night, Edible BC presents their Cooking With BC’s Best series at Granville Island Public Market, and guess who’s cooking? “Cuisine du Terroir. This is how Cameron Smith and Dana Ewart describe their concept – translated as food of the earth – and food with a strong sense of place. EBC is such a huge fan of this humble and talented dynamic duo. From their inception selling pastries at the farmers’ markets, to their position as the preeminent Okanagan caterers, Cam and Dana believe in using local ingredients for the simple reason that fresh tastes better. On this special evening, they will showcase the wealth of delicious spring foodstuffs from the producers in the Valley.” Tickets will sell like greased lightning on this one, folks. Get sorted here.
Monday, April 4 | 7:45 | Granville Island Public Market | $90

MOVIES

Cry-Baby plays at the Rio. Directed by John Waters and starring Johnny Depp. Refresh your mind here.
Friday April 1 | 11:55pm | Rio Theatre | $8

Bowie! Next Wednesday you can see Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence on the big screen: “this powerful wartime drama is set in a Japanese-run POW camp on Java, and tells an unusual, unnerving story of camaraderie, cultural difference, codes of honour, and homoerotic desire. David Bowie plays newly-arrived prisoner Celliers, an upper-crust British major; Sakamoto (who also contributed the 80s-style musical score) is Yonoi, the sexually repressed, hara-kiri obsessed camp commandant who becomes infatuated with the androgynous newcomer.” And guess what? Two dollars from each ticket sold to this event will be donated to the Canadian Red Cross in support of relief efforts in Japan. Done deal.
Wednesday, April 6 |9pm |  Pacific Cinémathèque | $11.50

Don’t miss Cinema Salon at Vancity Theatre this coming week. It definitely sounds like a gooder: Professor Stephen J. Toope (President and Vice-Chancellor of UBC) presents In the Heat of the Night. “In a hot, humid Mississippi town, a wealthy businessman is found dead in the middle of the night. The police assume they have found their murderer when a black stranger waits at the strain station. This intelligent piece about a black detective performing a murder investigation in the 1960’s examines race relations in a way that provides some of the most unforgettable moments in American cinema. A stunning script and brilliant performances by Sidney Poitier and Rod Steiger, and winner of five Academy Awards, including Best Picture of 1968.” More here.
Tuesday, April 5 | 6:30pm | Vancity Theatre | $13

The Waldorf goes extra awesome with a Sunday screening of Berlin Alexanderplatz by German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder.  The first four episodes (introduced by visual artist Stan Douglas) go down this week:

1. The Punishment Begins (82 minutes)
2. How is One to Live if One Doesn’t Want to Die? (59 minutes)
3. A Hammer Blow on the Head Can Injure the Soul (59 minutes)
4. A Handful of People in the Depth of Silence

April 3 | Doors 1:30pm. Films and introductory talk by Stan Douglas at 2pm | Waldorf Hotel

OTHER STUFF

On Thursday. there’s a talk at W2 that sounds like it might cover some interesting ground. In the Realm of Reform: Drugs, Laws and Social Change w/ Gabor Mate. Pivot has the full scoop here.
Thursday, March 31 | 6:30pm to 9:30pm | W2 Storyeum | Various Prices

Check the mid-day, mid-week Health and Wellness Fair out at Renfrew Community Centre (co-hosted by Adrian Dix) that’ll bring display booth after display booth of various health agencies wares. There’s gotta be something good about that, especially with a light lunch provided!
Wednesday, April 6 | 10am – 2:30pm |  Renfrew Park Community Centre

Remember the Scout motto? Be Prepared! “We have all witnessed the recent earthquakes in Japan and New Zealand and have seen the devastation caused. Living in Vancouver, we too could be faced with an earthquake – yet few of us take the necessary steps to ensure we are prepared. This session covers what is required to develop your family emergency plan, how to conduct a “Home Hazard” Hunt and what to do when an earthquake strikes.” Visit the Roundhouse website for more info.
Wednesday, April 6 | Roundhouse | 7-8:30pm | Free

If you know of or are involved in an event that you think we should know about, drop Michelle a line at michelle[at]scoutmagazine[dot]ca. No promises – but we’ll see what we can do.

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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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