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…

HOCKEY | It’s back, folks. The Vancouver Canucks play the Anaheim Ducks on Hockey Night In Canada this Saturday.
Saturday, January 19th | 7pm | CBCSports.ca or CBC | DETAILS

FEASTVAN | Fill your bellies (and pint glasses) with a good conscience during FeastVan starting this weekend. Indulge in a specially priced three-course dinner (or two course lunch) between January 18 and February 3 and $1 from every prix fixe dinner sold 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 that help 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 and Les Amis du Fromage will be doing the same for every sale of take home macaroni and cheese. We’re talking restaurants about good restaurants, folks. Au Petit Chavignol, The Acorn, The Cascade Room, El Caminos, Habit, Harvest Community Foods, Les Faux Bourgeois, The Parker, Campagnolo Roma, Fray, The Red Wagon, Union Bar, and more are on board.
January 18 – February 3 | Various Locations | DETAILS

ARTIST TALK | Tuesday night presents a good opportunity to head downtown to the VAG to take in Ian Wallace: At the Intersection of Painting and Photography. Not only is it admission-by-donation night at the gallery on Tuesday evenings, but Wallace will also be on site to offer a little bit of insight into the motivations behind his work and the factors that have influenced his 45 year career. The talk, the first in a series of four talks related to Wallace’s work to be held over the next several weeks, is free for members and students and $10 for the rest of us (there will be three more talks lead by a variety of art world heavyweights: Christine Poggi, Stan Douglas, Victor Burgin). More here.
Tuesday, January 15 | 7pm | Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby St) | $10 | DETAILS

LEARN | There are two great do-it-yourself style cooking classes this week: Kombucha and Beyond: Natural Health Drinks at UBC Farm and Sauerkraut and Pickle Making at East Hastings’ Homesteaders Emporium. Both classes are concerned with probiotic and enzyme-rich foods, edibles that can keep you healthy and happy through the winter. Kombucha and Beyond ($35) aims to teach you how to make nutritious drinks like Kombucha, moroccan mint tea, barley water, beet kvaas, potassium tea and more, while Homesteaders offers a two hour class ($50) that includes instruction and ingredients for you to make your own sauerkraut and includes a sampling of a variety of pickles (and instruction on how to make them, too).
Kombucha: Wed, January 16 | 5:30pm | UBC Farm Centre Kitchen | $35 | DETAILS
Sauerkraut: Thurs, January 17 | 6pm | Homesteaders Emporium | $50 | DETAILS

BIG MOUTH | UBC’s Department of Art History, Visual Art & Theory has invited seven Vancouver creatives to speak to the issue of the relationship between the arts and education this week. Speakers include Nigel Prince (Director of the Contemporary Art Gallery), Sarah Macaulay (Director of Macaulay & Co. Fine Art), Omer Arbel (Designer), Bruce Haden (Architect and Designer), Graeme Berglund (Founder and Creative Director of The Cheaper Show), Office Supplies Incorporated, and Vanessa Richards (Interdisciplinary Artist). Each individual will take the stage to give a short run down of what they do, how they got there and what motivates them. Connect. Get inspired! This sounds like a great event.
Wednesday, January 16 | 5:30pm | Penthouse – Buchanan B (1866 Main Mall) UBC | Free | DETAILS

ROCK OUT | We don’t want to be alarmist, but what if the worst possible set of circumstances went down and The Waldorf was no longer a viable option for local bands and artists? The Vancouver institution could close doors for good this weekend. Don’t take it for granted while it’s still an option. This Thursday night We Hunt Buffalo, Three Wolf Moon, and The Gay Nineties are playing and it’s guaranteed to be a high energy show. To the end!
Thursday, January 17 | Doors at 9pm | $8 | DETAILS 

REINVEST | The Built City lecture series goes down at the Museum of Vancouver this week. From MOV: “This three part series invites city thinkers from all disciplines and areas of interest to make connections between community, policy & governance, to the ideals and economics of architectural theory and practice.” Thursday’s talk, the third in the series, looks at the importance of balancing existing infrastructure with growth and sustainability. Speaking to this topic are Teresa Coady (Founding Partner of sustainable and energy-efficient design specialists B+H Bunting Coady Architects) and local developer Mark Shieh (newly renovated River Market in New West).
Thursday, January 17 | 7pm | Museum of Vancouver | $12 | DETAILS

LAST CHANCE |  Vancouver punk legends D.O.A. plan to play their last show this weekend and they’re going to do it at The Rickshaw. A major contributor to the international punk scene since the late seventies, a D.O.A  farewell gig DTES style will likely be the stuff you’ll want to be able to tell your grandchildren that you saw.  Do whatever is necessary to get yourself in the door.
Friday, January 18 | Doors 8pm | Rickshaw Theatre, 254 E. Hastings | DETAILS

PuSH | The PuSh International Performing Arts Festival is on. Beginning this week, PuSh fills stages and unlikely venues around the city with live local and international performing arts. We’re looking forward to experiencing The Human Library, a performance piece that allows patrons visiting the third floor of the main branch of the Vancouver Public Library to “check out” a human and “read” them in short one-on-one question periods. Humans available span a wide range – from Born Again Christians to Drag Queens. As PuSh explains: “The Human Library project emerged over a decade ago in Denmark as a creative method to unpack hate within a community and discuss our prejudices and misunderstandings in intimate conversations one-on-one.” This performance is free and open to all, and books are available on a first-come, first-served basis on the day of the performance. Human Library is just one of many events happening this week. With so many events to choose from, it’s a good idea to have a bit of a game plan. For a full line-up of events, click here.
January 15 – February 3 | Various venues, Various prices | DETAILS

LEGALIZE | Vancouver-Fraserview MLA Kash Heed and Canadian Drug Policy Coalition director Donald MacPherson will be at SFU Harbour Centre this Thursday to discuss the pro’s and cons of legalizing BC Bud. How would legalization impact BC’s economy? Would more people be able to afford to get in on the over-priced real estate market if they were allowed to claim income from marijuana sales when dealing with lending institutions? How would widespread government-sanctioned consumption of pot affect public health? Would criminal activity be diminished? All important questions to consider. Get in on the conversation!
Thursday, January 17 | 12:30pm | SFU Harbour Centre, Room 2270 | Free | DETAILS

OH CANADA | Pacific Cinematheque Theatre is celebrating Canadian film this weekend, and so should you. On Friday night, the Artistic Director of the Toronto International Film Festival, Cameron Bailey, will be at the the theatre to introduce screenings of Canada’s Oscar nominated film Rebelle as well as Canadian director Sarah Polley’s award-winning Stories We Tell. On Sunday, you can catch one or both parts of Canada’s Top Ten Shorts.
Friday, January 18 – Sunday, January 20 | Various times | DETAILS

VINTAGE | There’s a 21st Century Flea Market going on this Sunday. You never know what treasures you’ll find at the flea market, so browse the wares of the 175 vendors offering everything from mid-century modern to 50’s kitsch, records and CDs, textiles and toys, happy in the knowledge that something amazing could just fall in your lap.
Sunday, January 20 | 10am-3pm | Croatian Cultural Centre (3250 Commercial) | $5

Check the Globe & Mail every Thursday for our Special Weekend Edition of the Scout List

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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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