Shera Kelly and Julia Spitale of The Wheely Slow Cooking Tour

by Michelle Sproule | 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…

WINE | CedarCreek’s winemaker Darryl Brooker and president Gordon Fitzpatrick are heading to Blood Alley this week to release their 2011 vintage. If you’re interested in tasting six of CedarCreek’s newest white wines paired with artisanal cheeses, local charcuterie and a selection of kick-ass condiments, you’ll want to get yourself sorted soon (the great price and the aforementioned condiments pretty much guarantees a sell-out event).
Tuesday, April 17 | 7pm | Salt Tasting Room | $40

SLOW FOOD | Last summer, Shera Kelly and Julia Spitale of The Wheely Slow Cooking Tour  (pictured above) traveled from Saltspring Island to Halifax singing, cooking and connecting with sustainable farms along the way. This week, the pair will recap their tour, show footage of their interviews with farmers and present a panel of experts to share their wisdom about local food systems. This is going to be a really great event. Not only are Julia and Shera super wonderful people who are pretty much guaranteed to throw down with a good tune, but their panelists are awesome, too. Peter Ladner (author of The Urban Food Revolution), Lori Petryk (dietitian from Good for You Good for the Earth), and Will Valley (urban farmer from Inner City Farms) know their sustainable food systems and they’ll be on hand to enlighten us all. Before you attend, be sure to purchase an apple, take a picture of it, and post it to this event page along with information about where you bought the apple and where it was grown.
Thursday, April 19 | 7pm | W2 Media Cafe (111 W Hastings) | $12 | Details 

TINY HOMES | Super star Lloyd Khan is giving a lecture about Tiny Homes this week. He’ll be showing off  the work of some 150 DIY builders who have built tiny homes, studios, saunas, garden sheds, and greenhouses, each on the forefront of downsizing and self-sufficiency. Kahn of Marin County, California is a pioneer of the green building movement and the the author of Shelter and Home Work: Hand-built Shelter. I stumbled across his work a few years back and immediately developed a huge crush on him. He takes great photos of unique homes and structures and seems to float around the world from one interesting situation to the next. He strikes me as the kind of guy capable of filling an hour and a half easily with anecdotes and the kind of hippy sunshine that only alights on the hills of Marin.
Thursday, April 19 | 7- 9pm | Emily Carr Lecture Theatre – Room 301 | Free

POP UP | The Beggars Banquet sets up in the old Boneta space again this weekend, and man, is it ever a sweet line-up! Stop in to score new duds, retro trinkets or affordable art. Lux Vintage will be there with their beautiful treasures, as will Wasted Effort, James Steidle Woodworking, and many others. There will be a cash bar, so make a night of it.
Fri & Sat April 20, 21 | Fri 6pm-11pm, Sat 11am-7pm | Boneta | 1 West Cordova | $2 Admission | Details

EAT LOCAL | 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 21 | 10am – 2pm | East Parking Lot/ Nat Bailey | Details

4:20 | On the 20th day of the 4th month (that would be this Friday), thousands of people gather in, on and around the Vancouver Art Gallery to celebrate one of BC’s strongest industries: marijuana. Pot cookies, smoking tents, bongo drums, naked people and dreadlocks…expect it all. The first reefers are lit early in the day and the cloud of blue love gathers all day, reaching it’s zenith in a storm at 4:20pm. If you’re driving through downtown, take caution around the VAG parameter, as there may be a few slow moving pedestrians to avoid.
Friday, April 20 | 4:20pm | Vancouver Art Gallery | Free (or $5 a joint)

CULTURE | Internationally recognized Canadian slam poet and writer Shane Koyczan is a legend. Although he was born in Yellowknife and raised in Penticton, he has also logged a significant number of hours wandering the wilds of East Vancouver and we like to claim him as an honorary Vancouverite whenever possible.  Shane and The Short Story Long will coming to town this week to pull a gig at the Vogue Theatre. Grab tickets while you still can, cuz this will be a fantastic show.
Saturday, April 21 | 7pm | Vogue Theatre | $25 (Zulu, Red Cat or the Vogue Theatre Box Office (604-569-1144) | Details 

RECORD STORE DAY | It’s Record Store Day on Saturday! There are two particularly sweet gigs going down for Record Store Day that you won’t want to miss (too bad there isn’t a shuttle going between them). Not only is Zulu having a huge sale on new and used CDs, 7″s, LPs as well as a prime selection of exclusive Record Store Day releases, but they’re also throwing down with limited edition Record Store Day releases! Vinyl Appreciation Procedures (you play the tunes, you spin the wax!) as well as ticket giveaways to some of the best shows in town! Plus Live Music from: Secretly Canadian Recording Artist Damien Jurdo (6pm), Constellation Records Artist Siskiyou (6:45pm) and First Love/Boompa Artist No Sinner (7:30pm)
April 21 | Sale – all day / in-store 6–8pm | Free | Details
And over on Main Street, Red Cat Records is planning a crazy day of good deals and Record Store Day shwag. And then the bands start…2pm – Ladyhawk; 3pm – Apollo Ghosts; 4pm – Hard Drugs and 5pm -White Ash Falls.
April 21 | Sale – all day / in-store 2– 5pm | Free | Details 

FOUNDATION SHOWS | Pop down to Granville Island to check out the newest creations from ECUAD art, design and media makers at the very beginning of their creative careers. “The Foundation Show aims to provide students with the opportunity to show family, colleagues and instructors that they have indeed launched a lifelong pursuit of judgment and discernment in establishing their learning community, developing creative habits and finding their imaginative voice.” The show continues until Saturday, April 28.
Opening night is Friday, April 20 | 7-10pm | Concourse Gallery | Free | Details 

BUY LOCAL | 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 Clothing, Allison Wonderland, Erin Templeton, Floating Gold Iceberg, Forsya Boutique, Flight Path Designs, Toodlebunny … (the list goes on and on and it’s all cool and Vancouver-made).
Sunday, April 22 | 11am–8pm | Heritage Hall (3102 Main) | $1 

HEADS-UP | Busy schedule? Don’t think you can swing a very long weekend away to taste your way through Naramata Bench vineyards and their coveted wines? Get this: a slough the Bench’s wineries are coming to town for a Spring Release party, saving us city-slickers the travel time. All you need to do is hop on the skytrain (zippy 25 minute ride right to the River Market in New Westminster) and quadruple the number of wineries that would be comfortable to see in one day by gathering everyone under one roof. Pretty sweet, right? Do it.
Tuesday, April 24 | 6.30-9pm | The River Market at Westminster Quay (SO easy to get there) | $85

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Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended 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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