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

Rumour has it that Nelson The Seagull (315 Carrall) opens this weekend. They’ll be baking stuff, making sandwiches and soups, in-house picnic platters, fresh fruit, their own line of ginger beers and lemonades. Prices are affordable. Is Gastown suitable for a casual hangout with couches and wireless? Sure is.

Next up? Save On Meats!

It’s a little way off, but the charming Michael Dinn and the mesmerizing Heidi Noble of JoieFarm will be hosting a special mini-vertical tasting at Legacy Liquor Store in the Olympic Village next week. I’m letting you know now because it will sell out. Wines to be tasted include 2008, 2009 & 2010 A Noble Blend and Riesling as well as 2007, 2008 & 2009 Reserve Chardonnay and the lust-worthy PTG. Tickets are only $15 and there are only 36 seats available, so don’t wait. Click here.
Wednesday, June 1 | 7-8 pm | Legacy Liquor Store | $15

Fairview Cellars sets up shop in at Salt this holiday Monday. For only 40 beans you can enjoy house made condiments, artisanal cheeses and local charcuterie paired with Fairview Cellars wines. Not too shabby for a Monday night!
Monday, May 23 | 7pm | Salt Cellar | $40

CHILL

Guess what? This coming Sunday is International Biodiversity Day!  Celebrate by catching a copepod lecture out at UBC’s Biodiversity Museum. Copepods (small crustaceans that are the most abundant animal group in the marine environment) have colonized virtually every aquatic habitat from the deepest sea to the highest mountain lakes. So there’s a lot to cover, and Dr. Lewis (Professor Emeritus of Biological Oceanography) will cover it with you.
Sunday, May 22 | 1-2pm | Beaty Biodiversity Museum | Free with admission

I love Old Faithful. How could you not dig a store with a mantra like “quality goods for simple, everyday living”?  It’s as if proprietors Savannah Olsen and Walter Manning are compelled to outfit Vancouver with all that is good, or at least give us access to their cleverly curated version of good – the kind of good that manifests itself in a handmade piece of furniture, a subtle scent or salad of freshly picked greens. Which brings me to the point of this entry on the Scout List. This week, the Old Faithful Shop pulls together the first in a series of workshops. This Sunday it’s Container Gardening.  Head down to the store for an in-house workshop on the basics of growing herbs and greens with no backyard in sight.   The workshop will include instruction on everything from container preparation and tools, tips and tricks to container maintenance. All materials will be provided and each participant will leave with a planted container. Space is limited for this event so register early by calling 778-327-9376. I can see it now, wee little vegetable gardens sprouting up and down the Woodwards Building. Get on it people. This class will sell out FAST!
Sunday, May 22 | 10-11:30am | Call Old Faithful Shop (320 W Cordova)

Find out everything you ever wanted to know about the Great Blue Herons of Stanley Park on Sunday. It should be a beautiful day for a stroll in the park! Phone: 604-257-8544 to reserve a space. More here.
Sunday, May 22 | 1:30-3:30pm | Lost Lagoon Nature House | $10

MUSIC

If you’re looking for a quality gig over the next week, you’re in luck.

First off, David Cassidy in town (I know, right?).

Phantogram plays The Venue (Friday). Details.

Surf-punk darlings Agent Orange play the Rickshaw on Monday night (May 23). Hell yes!

Lauryn Hill is at the Commodore on Tuesday. Lauryn Hill? Commodore? That’s gonna be a great show!

The Sleigh Bells and Neon Indian are at the Vogue Wednesday (May 25). Best of luck finding tickets. Craigslist, maybe.

Bonus: Nomeanso play at the Biltmore next Thursday (May 26).

CULTURE

Mountains and Mountains (new works from Vancouver artists Russell Leng & Aaron Moran) is showing at the Catalog Gallery until Sunday, pop down to Gastown for a look-see. “The work itself is architectural in nature, and is a stunning display of conversation between the disciplines of two artists working in different mediums.”
Now – May 22 | Catalog Gallery (100-56 Powell) | Free

In Chinatown, the 221A Artist Run Centre opens a new show: I live with twenty machines; I wish I lived with twenty wives. Here’s the scoop: “Drawing its title from a lyric in a generic mid-90’s indie-rock song, the exhibition brings together Vancouver based artists Scott Billings, Josh Hite and Jay Pozo whose work explores technology both as medium and as subject matter, highlighting the cultural transformations that have taken place over the last decade as mobile technologies, cameras, and social media (YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, etc.) have allowed every aspect of our lives to be recorded, represented and re-lived online.” Show continues to June 26. Details.
21 May | 221a Gallery (221 E. Georgia) | Free

There is a 40th Anniversary Exhibition at the Dundarave Print Workshop Gallery on Granville Island right now. Stop in and be impressed by the scope of four decades of printmaking. More details here.
May 23-June 19 | Dundarave Print Workshop (1640 Johnston Street)

Douglas Coupland hosts an interactive presentation on Marshall McLuhan and YouTube at The Waldorf Hotel next Thursday. People dig Coupland so if you want to catch this event, hook yourself up sooner rather than later. Just sayin’.
Thursday, May 26 | 7pm | Waldorf (1489 E Hastings)

FILM

The Found Footage Festival is on at The Rio. This is a one-of-a-kind event that showcases footage from videos that were found at garage sales and thrift stores and in warehouses and dumpsters across the country and it’s frickin’ brilliant.
Thursday May 19 | 7pm | Rio | $8

Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides opens this week. Follow Captain Jack Sparrow on his latest adventure daily at: 12:50, 4:00, 7:00 and 9:50 pm.
May 20-26 | Park Theatre (3492 Cambie) | $12.75

Vancouver Sometimes Plays Itself Film Series is screening Skip Tracer this week. “Uncompromising, misanthropic, and a little sadistic, John Collins is a nattily dressed bill collector, the advance guard of the new economy -busting windows and smashing lives. Zale Dalen’s feature debut is mountain vista and golden sunlight pulp.”
Monday, May 23 | 7pm | Waldorf (1489 E Hastings) | by donation

VANITY

Yoohoo! There’s a sample sale this Thursday that promises to be one of those “I can’t believe how cool this sample sale is” sample sales. Score items from Erin Templeton, Dotted Loop and Allison Wonderland. Hot.
Thursday, May 19 | 4-9pm | Erin Templeton (511 Carrall)

A handful of the city’s fashion cool kids are throwing down with a show at Gastown’s Guilt & Co. on Sunday night. “Anthology” is a collaborative gig featuring clothing and accessories from local designers and boutiques like the Block, Lark, and True Value Vintage. If this crew can’t outfit you with a new style, best of luck.
Sunday, May 22 | 8pm | Guilt & Co. (1 Alexander) | Free

Oh, and Anthropologie is now open on South Granville.

CITY

Are you curious about the new DTES Public Library? Consider attending one of the upcoming open houses to talk about the new library branch to be built at #720-730 East Hastings Street. There will be free refreshments, children’s activities and door prizes.
Thursday May 19 | 5-9pm.| Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre (1607 E Hastings)
Thursday May 26 | 5-9pm.| Ray-Cam Co-operative Centre (920 E Hastings)

And speaking of libraries…The Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library is celebrating its Sweet 16 this weekend. Head down for cake and library love. Everyone is welcome and…I’m just guessing here…there will likely be some free cake involved!
Saturday, May 21 |8pm | Central Library (350 W Georgia) | Free

There’s a talk on single family neighbourhoods centering on creative solutions for greater density while retaining historic streetscapes (sadly, not everyone is on the increased density bandwagon). Hook up with City of Vancouver Planning Department and Vancouver Heritage Foundation for a lunch that focuses on the issue of Laneway Housing. Find out why it might be a good thing for your ‘hood. More info here.
Wednesday May 25 | 555 Seymour (BCIT Downtown Campus) | $12

The Vancouver Heritage Foundation is offering a cool talk about the history of Vancouver homes in a lecture entitled 125 Years of Vancouver Homes: from Green Wilderness to Green Metropolis. The talk is given by author Bruce Macdonald (Vancouver: a Visual History) and requires that you pre-register online. Check it.
Wednesday May 25 | 7:30-9pm | Mary’s Church, 2490 W 37 | | $12

Local architect, planner and developer Michael Geller offers a retrospective talk covering the last 40 years of his career in both public and private sectors, involving ground-breaking projects in Vancouver from False Creek South to UniverCity. Familiarize yourself with Geller by visiting his blog. It will be an interesting talk – particularly if anyone asks him about LEED. Go Michael!
Tuesday, May 24 | 7–9pm | SFU at Harbour Centre, Room 1900 | Register here

The rain has stopped and the season of guided walks through the city has begun. This weekend you are invited to join local historian James Johnston as he tours Vancouver’s oldest neighbourhood in two parts. The morning tour covers the oldest part of Vancouver’s first neighbourhood, Strathcona, north of Hastings Street while the afternoon tour covers the remainder of the neighbourhood south of Hastings between Gore and Campbell. Both are fascinating on their own, but why not make a day of it? I would. And it sure doesn’t hurt that Au Petit Chavignol is right there waiting to serve up a croque monsieur and an arugula salad mid-way through the day. Damn, that croque monsieur is amazing. Get details here.
Saturday May 21 | $20 per 2 hr walk or $30 for both | To reserve a space, e-mail: [email protected]
Pt 1 – North of Hastings Departs 611 Alexander @ 10:00 am
Pt 2 – South of Hastings Departs 696 East Hastings @ 2:00 pm

If you are involved in or know of an event that you think we should add to the Scout List, drop us a line and we’ll see what we can do. Keep in mind that we’re looking for cool, cheap and accessible events. Michelle [@] Scoutmagazine [dot] ca.

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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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