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…

GLUTTONY

This is a good week for gluttony.

As this Friday is the first Friday of the month, expect crowds to gather in at the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral (Main/10th) for Perogi night. Join in by loading your plate up with old-school dumplings handmade by church volunteers. A “regular dinner” consisting of 6 perogies, 2 cabbage rolls, sauerkraut or salad and Ukrainian sausage. It costs just $12. If you’re looking for something a little lighter, borscht served with rye bread is only $3.50.
Friday, May 6 | 5 till 8 pm | Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral | 154 E 10th | $3.50 – $15

Craft Beer Week is coming and man-o-man, is there a lot to drink do. Check out theit website for event details. Scout picks: Dead Famous Pub Crawl (Saturday, May 7); Hoppapalooza II at the Alibi Room (Sunday, May 8); Driftwood Brewery Dinner at CinCin (Wednesday, May 11); Battle of the Belgians at Chambar (Thursday, May 12); The Brewery Creek Beer Festival (Saturday, May 14 @ the Beatty Street Drill Hall) and, of course, Monday’s likely kickass Battle at Boneta. Tickets go fast!

Spot Prawns are coming! The season begins on Saturday with the 5th Annual Spot Prawn Festival at False Creek’s Fisherman’s Wharf (just west of Granville Island on the south side of False Creek). The event, founded by the Chefs’ Table Society of BC, will include a huge spot prawn boil, a series of cooking demonstrations, wine tastings, live music and educational kids’ activities organized by Vancouver Aquarium staffers. Scout editor Andrew Morrison will be on the first boat out and MCing the event upon his return. Good times. Details here.
Saturday, May 7 | 11am-3pm | False Creek Fishermen’s Wharf | $10

You didn’t hear it from us but Swallow Tail Secret Supper Club is throwing a night garden dinner party this weekend. The ‘underground supper club’ will be taking guests to an artist’s studio somewhere in Vancouver where they’ll be served a five-course meal inspired by the art work on display. $69 cost includes one cocktail, meal and a small painting of your very own to take home.
Saturday, May 7 | 7:30pm | Check in with Swallow Tail to find out location details | $69

The 16th Annual Stone Soup Festival takes shape at Britannia Centre over the weekend. It’s a celebration of food, art, environment and community. Wander over to The Drive and check out the line-up of food vendors, local artists, community groups, talks and workshops, live music and slurp a bowl of free soup!
Saturday May 7 | Britannia Community Centre (1661 Napier @ Commercial)

P.S. It’s Mothers Day. Figure out your reservations now! There are oodles of brunches to choose from but don’t sit on it too long. And bring flowers, for f#ck’s sake!

MUSIC

Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall plays the Venue Friday night.
Friday, May 6 | 8pm | Venue

And ooooh, what do we have here? Men Without Hats also play the Venue this weekend. Anyone up for a Safety Dance? Whatever…you can dance if want to…
Saturday, May 7 | 8pm | The Venue

Yukon Blonde, Sun Wizard and Red Bird will be at the Red Room. Stoked!
Saturday, May 7 | 8pm | Red Room (398 Richards) | $10.50

Cass McCombs visits the Waldorf and brings Frank Farfield with him.
Saturday, May 7 | 7pm | Waldorf Hotel | $13

Folk singer-songwriter Joe Purdy performs from his latest album “This American”
May 7 |  7:30pm | Rio Theatre (1660 Broadway @Commercial) $18

VANITY

Nothing says spring like an indie craft fair, and nothing says indie craft fair like Got Craft? With over 55 local vendors flogging handmade goods like handbags, ceramics, stationery, jewelry and clothing, you won’t have any difficulty finding a perfect spring trinket or two. And don’t worry, there’ll also be baked goods AND a pakora truck outside to help you keep your energy up. Be one of the first 45 people through the door and you’ll score a coveted swag bag. Take Mom and make a day of it.
Sunday, May 8th | 10am – 5pm |Royal Canadian Legion (2205 Commercial) | $3

The Spring Bliss Sale at the Cambrian Hall on Saturday. It’ll be an intimate affair of about a dozen local clothing and accessory vendors (think Lolo Jewelry, Lav and Kush, Red Jade, Peridot Kiss, Justine Brooks Jewels, Harmony Activewear, Luxe Beauty Lounge, Ashley Watson Bags). Admission is free, as are the mimosas and manicures. Beat that!
Saturday, May 7 | 10am-4pm | Cambrian Hall (215 E 17) | Free

A visit to the Ion Pop Shop is in order for a solid selection of art, fashion, music, and “on hand”. If Ion has selected it, you know it’s gonna be good. For more information, go here.
Now-June 2 | 196 Kingsway

Coquette Designer Consignment is laying out silk skirts, shirt dresses and styling shoes at the Waldorf this weekend. “There will be summer frocks from Diane von Furstenberg in eyelet cotton and bright prints. Strappy sandals from Pour La Victoire. Étoile Isabel Marant in denim and plaid. Seasonal staples from J.Crew, Marc Jacobs and Steven Alan. Usher in late spring and early summer with Coquette where we will keep you looking your best in new and gently-loved pieces up to 70% off their original price.” And here’s the kicker: Coquette is teaming up with East Van Wine Academy sommelier Kurtis Kolt. Nothing goes with strappy sandals from Pour La Victoire like a wee bit of Kurtis Kolt. “Kurtis will be on hand to sample and outfit you with plenty of…summer-ready sips.” Trust me, this is what Mom really wants.
Friday, May 6-7-10pm; Saturday, May 7, 11am-6pm; Sunday, May 8, 11am -5pm | Waldorf Hotel

CULTURE

Big Night: This Is East Van is holding it’s official book launch at the Waldorf and it’s going to be the shit. If you’re not familiar, the book is a collection of photographs submitted by community members depicting what East Van is to them, and it rocks (and not just because I took a few of them). Images from the book will be projected in a slideshow for you to enjoy as you groove to good music, enjoy an end of the day cocktail and engage in inspired conversation. Scout plans to be there. You should come too!
Thursday, May 5 | 8pm | Waldorf Hotel | $10

Hit the awards ceremony honouring the 2011 recipient of the Audain Prize for Lifetime Achievement in the Visual Arts (Rodney Graham) and 2011 VIVA Award recipients Reece Terris and Althea Thauberger. Ceremony followed by reception.
Thursday, May 5 | 7pm | Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby) | Free Gallery admission (19.50)

Where do memories come from and how do we get ’em? A fascinating question. For the answer, head to the Museum of Vancouver this weekend for a symposium that will explore how memory is created and represented in institutional and other contexts. Panelists will give short presentations on two themes: Curation and Creation.
Saturday, May 7 | 10am | Museum of Vancouver | Free but RSVP is mandatory | [email protected]

Chalk Xchange is hosting a second Altered Book Workshop with artist Rachael Ashe this weekend. It’ll be an introduction to transforming old books into one-of-a-kind pieces of art. This course will demonstrate a selection of techniques and provide a starting point for creating work of your own. The goal will be to complete one finished “folded page” altered book by the end of the workshop. Please bring at least two old books you would like to work with, one for experimenting, and one to make a completed project with. Click here to register.
May 7th | 11:00 am – 5:00pm | Chalk | $80 + 2.99 eventbrite fee

The Degree Exhibition is on at Emily Carr. Drop in to the worlds coolest and most wonderfully-located university to see the work of 300+ graduate and undergraduate students in ECUAD Design, Fine Arts and Media. Just don’t try to take your car, because parking there is a bitch.
May 8 – 22 | 10am-6pm daily | ECUAD | Free

Mass collaboration and crowd sourced innovation are the bee’s knees these days. Planners and community builders are all about using cloud computing and social media to “co-create” our neighborhoods and improve community design. The SFU Crowdsourced City forum will explore how new technologies can improve the transparency of policymaking, planning and projects. Leading innovators in crowdsourcing field (Lukas Biewald of Crowdflower, Darin Dinsmore of Crowdbrite, Colleen Hardwick of PlaceSpeak) will cover background and trends in crowdsourcing, demonstrate some of the new techniques and platforms available and use examples from the real world to show you these principles lead to innovation in design. Bring a laptop or iPad!
Tuesday, May 10 | 7–9pm | SFU at Harbour Centre, Room 7000 |

GREEN

Do something good for the salmon population of the world. They’ve had a hard time of it of late, so join the good folks at The Great Salmon Send Off out in Burnaby and release some cute little salmon fry out in to the world.
Saturday May 7  | 2740 Beaverbrook Crescent (Burnaby) | Free

Canadian Climate Scientist Andrew Weaver heads to SFU to explain global warming, outline the threat it presents and, thank god, offer some solutions in clear language. Here is the scoop: “Global warming is accepted in the scientific community, yet remains hotly debated at political & social levels. Why is this? Is it because effects of global warming will not be felt for generations? Do we not feel a moral responsibility to these generations? Weaver contends: just as humans have been responsible for creating the problem, we must also be the solution. Come & hear how.”
Thursday, May 5 | 7–9pm | SFU at Harbour Centre | Register here

A Growing Affair goes down out at UBC this weekend, it will include a plant sale, hands-on workshops, seminars – the lot.
Saturday, May 7 | UBC Botanical Garden & Centre for Plant Research

FILM

Bill Cunningham New York is playing. Awesome-looking flick!  This documentary is all about New York Times photographer Bill Cunningham, a man who spent decades documenting fashion trends and high society for the Times ‘Style’ section in his columns “On the Street” and “Evening Hours.” Watch the trailer here.
Friday, May 6 | International Village (88 W Pender) | $12.75

Jurassic Park is this week’s midnight movie at the Rio.  Remember, the ticket price is cheaper if you come in costume.  Get your Gallimimus on!
Friday, May 6 | Rio Theatre | Doors @ 11:30. Show @ midnight | $8/$7 in costume

DOXA is on. Presented by the Documentary Media Society, a Vancouver based non-profit, charitable society devoted to presenting independent and innovative documentaries to Vancouver audiences; DOXA is all about opening minds. The society exists to educate the public about documentary film as an art form. Not just super cool screenings, DOXA also includes panel discussions, public forums and educational programs. Click here for deets.

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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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