A no messing around guide to the coolest things to eat, drink and do in Vancouver and beyond. Community. Not clickbait.

SCOUT LIST: The 10 Things That You Should Probably Do Between Now And Next Week…

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…

1. Eat at FeastVan |  When you decide to eat out over the coming weeks, consider choosing a FeastVan restaurant. Here’s why: $1 from every prix fixe dinner sold at Au Petit Chavignol, Cafeteria, Campagnolo Roma, Founders Lounge (@ the Cultch), Fray, Les Amis du Fromage, Les Faux Bourgeois, The Red Wagon, Two Chef’s and a Table, The Vancouver Alpen Club and The Waldorf will go towards the Vancouver Inner City Back Pack Food Program, a rad initiative that helps kids who do not have reliable access to nutritious food by sending them home from school with healthy snacks to see them through the weekends. Not only that, but a percentage of the proceeds from every keg of R&B Brewing’s East Side Bitter sold at participating FeastVan restaurants will go towards the Back Pack Program as well. Fill your bellies (and pint glasses) with a good conscience!
January 20 – February 5 | Various Locations | DETAILS

2. Have Good Times | After almost 18 years in Kits, Vancouver skateboarding institution P.D.’s Hot Shop is moving West (to 10th and Alma), and before they shut their 4th Ave doors they’re having a proper Skull Skates party that will include art installations and live musical performances. It’s an all ages, free event, so take your boards, your kids, your memories and your happy selves to P.D.’s this Saturday night!
Saturday, January 21 | 7pm to midnight | 2868 W. 4 (@Macdonald) | DETAILS 

3. Be a Sew and Sew | The Window Community Art Shop in Gastown is starting sewing workshops this week. On Wednesday night you can nip in for a two hour class on how to sew a tote bag (6-8pm) and on Saturday you can learn how to sew a zip pouch (1-3pm). If you haven’t been, this is a great opportunity to check out the space. Classes only cost $25. Bonus: Save On Meats is just a few doors down for sustenance and Bitter is right across the street for that well deserved post-sewing pint. DETAILS

4. Get Personal with a Local Artist | The East Side Culture Crawl Society is starting a new series of intimate studio visits with Crawl artists. It sounds pretty great. On the third Sunday of each month, 15 art enthusiasts will have the chance to meet one of the Crawl’s most exciting and established artists and enjoy a personally-guided tour of their studio space and work. What a great way to get to know the artist and their process! The first tour is to the Railtown studio of mixed-media artist Hugh Kearney this coming Sunday. Pre-registration is required. To register or to find out about upcoming tours, contact Jeffrey Boone (jeffrey@eastsideculturecrawl[dot]com)
Sunday, January 22 | 1–2 pm | 339 Railway Street | $5 (refreshments provided)

5. Attend a Secret Supper | Swallow Tail is throwing down with a few events over the coming weeks and they will sell out, so make it your mission to grab a few tickets now. The Secret Supper Soiree (in which a double decker bus takes you around the city for foodie encounters in unusual locations) includes perks such as expertly crafted cocktails in odd places and five tasting plates by Andrea Carlson of Kits icon Bishop’s. Tickets are $129. The second event, Pearls & Cocktails, does not involve a bus but it does take you on a ride to a mysterious underground bar to be schooled in the art of cocktail making and oyster shucking. For a mere $69, culinary adventurers will not be only be treated to four cocktails and a tasting of four different and locally sourced oysters, they will also learn to construct said cocktails and shuck said oysters. Email [email protected] for tickets or info. Seriously, don’t wait.
Both options run Saturdays January 21, 28 & February 4 | Locations secret | DETAILS

6. Get Inspired | Make your way to the Museum of Vancouver this Thursday night to learn about ways in which nature can inspire resilient, sustainable, and creative urban environments. Special guest speakers Thomas Knittel (HOK New York) Dr. Faisal Moola (Science Director at the David Suzuki Foundation) and Ray Cole (UBC School of Architecture) come together to discuss “nature as the most innovative, imaginative, and locally attuned source of inspiration in architecture, engineering, and integrative resilience.” Reception to follow.
Thursday, January 19 | Doors at 6:30pm | Museum of Vancouver | DETAILS

7. Watch a Good Movie | Gus Van Sant’s My Own Private Idaho is on at the Rio this Thursday night. River Phoenix. Man, what a waste. Friday is lighter with a midnight screening of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (the Gene Wilder version). Nothing is quite as uplifting as Oompa Loompas and chocolate rivers. | DETAILS

8. Talk About Sex | Sex columnist Dan Savage is at the Vogue on Saturday night. I’m guessing he’ll have a thing to say about Stephen Harper. We’re sorry, Dan. If it were up to us, gay marriages performed in Canada would be legal everywhere, and Stephen Harper would be…oh wait, it is up to us.
Saturday, January 21 | 8 pm | Vogue Theatre (918 Granville) | $40ish | DETAILS

9. Get Cultured | The PuSh Festival continues this week with a wide variety of performing arts gigs around town. Check out the full line-up here. Our pick for this week is Bill Richardson & Veda Hille’s Do You Want What I Have Got? “Your personal ads, set to music!” featuring the original songs 300 Stuffed Penguins, Chilli Eating Buddy, Decapitated Dolls, and more.” I mean, come on, how could this not be entertaining?
January 19 – February 11 | Arts Club, Revue Stage (1601 Johnston, Granville Island) | DETAILS

10. Clean Up for the Year of the Dragon | The Chinese Lunar New Year goes down next week (Monday, January 23) but it’s customary to thoroughly clean your home (sweep away the ill-fortunes of the past to make way for good luck to come) prior to the big event and, if your house is anything like mine right now, you’ll need a few day’s head start to get it fully prepped. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. Get scrubbing!

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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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There are 6 comments

  1. thank you so much for these lists. i absolutely love and live by them! thank you again!

  2. Last week you posted some links to some artist talks (creative mornings). Do you know if there is anything like that happening this week?

  3. I already know about creative mornings, i was hoping for some other events in addition to that. Maybe art openings, artist talks, something else that i havent already heard of, etc. 🙂

  4. Ah. Keep an eye on the Scout List. Michelle always has good stuff planned.

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