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SCOUT LIST: 10 Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now & Next Week

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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…

SQUAMISH VALLEY MUSIC FESTIVAL | It doesn’t take very long to get to Squamish and it always has something great going on. This weekend, it’s the Squamish Valley Music Festival. Local and international artists will play to sun-soaked crowds Friday and Saturday. From The Belle Game, Portage & Main to Vampire Weekend, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, the line-up is varied and straight-up awesome. On-site camping is available (no campfires). Pro-tip: Scoot into Squamish proper on Saturday morning to fill your guts at the Farmer’s Market.
Aug. 8-10 | Hendrickson Fields & Logger Sports Ground, Squamish | Various $ | DETAILS

PARADISE LOST? | The Museum of Anthropology is hosting an International Symposium of the Pacific Arts Association this week. Coinciding with it is an exhibition of art and artifacts put together by MOA curator Dr. Carol Mayer. Wander the on-site exhibit (up until September 29) or check out the corresponding art show, Paradise Lost? Contemporary Works from the Pacific, which features works by artists from Fiji, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, and Vanuatu at The Satellite Gallery downtown. Thursday night is the opening reception.
Thur, Aug. 8 | 6pm | 560 Seymour Street, 2nd Floor | Free | DETAILS

LOOK UP | Every year around this time, stargazers flee the bright lights of the city for a better look at the Perseid meteor shower. Visible from mid-July until the end of August, the Perseid hits its apex this weekend with the most pronounced activity going down in the pre-dawn hours (if you’re looking, you can expect to see somewhere in the neighbourhood of 60 meteors per hour). Pretty much any open sky free of ‘light noise’ will do the trick, but if you want to really get in to it – I’m talking about telescopes provided by volunteers with the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada – you can hustle out to Aldergrove for the full nerd-out deal. Seriously, how is an experience like this not going to do you considerable good? To camp overnight you must arrive between 5pm and 8pm. Registration is not required. No entry to the park after 11pm. Find out more about Perseid meteors here.
Sat, Aug. 10 | 8-11pm | Aldergrove Lake Regional Park (Abbotsford)| $2 | DETAILS

FORAGE | Local blackberries are perfect right now, so find yourself a thicket and get picking. Try the borders of a quiet strip of defunct Canadian Pacific Railway tracks (always a good source). UBC Farm is also a solid place to fill your bucket. Sure, these berries will cost you (recommended minimum donation of $2 per bucket), but they’re also free of most car exhaust and other pollutants. What will you do with your bounty? Blackberry crumble, jam, or syrup for a late summer cocktail? For a little more info on blackberries,  have a read of this Victory Gardens post, Scoring Blackberries Before Lucifer Pees & Spits All Over Them.

BEACH | We’re half way through the season now, so it’s time to get serious about checking things off the summer ‘To Do’ list. If you haven’t packed up and spent a full day at the beach yet, now is the time. Try English Bay, Kits, Wreck or Whytecliff. Pull together a picnic lunch or dinner and dig in for the long haul. Get to Jericho for a walk. Feed the bunnies. Stop at the sailing centre. Head up to The Galley and put your feet up to watch the sunset with a pint of R&B and a Wild BC Salmon Burger. Anywhere. Just get those toes of yours in the sand and smell the lightly salted air.

SALT AIR | An afternoon in Steveston is like a mini-holiday. Take a break from the city and head out this weekend for the Richmond Maritime Festival. Take in the live entertainment and maritime exhibits, gobble up fresh seafood and walk the docks of the old shipyard to check out sail boats, historic fishing boats, tugs and more.
Aug. 9 – 11 | 11am-6pm | Britannia Heritage Shipyard, Steveston| Free | DETAILS

COOK | So stoked about this! Members of the UBC Farm Maya in Exile Garden are putting on a cooking class this Saturday. In addition to being schooled on how to make a proper corn tortilla, participants in the “Three Sisters in the Kitchen” workshop will learn how to make steamed and sautéd amaranth with squash blossoms and a ‘Yerba Mora’ salad. There will also be some talk about medicinal and culinary uses for various herbs and vegetables grown right there in the Mayan garden.
Sat., Aug. 10 | 2-4pm | UBC Farm (3461 Ross St , UBC) | $35 | DETAILS

CREATE | There is an awesome drawing party going on in Chinatown this weekend. Get this: Project Space, the alternative art space and bookshop on Georgia Street between Main and Gore, is inviting the public to come in and draw, doodle, scribble and paint. In order to to maximize the level of community engagement, they’ve decided to keep doors open for 24 hours straight. If it’s before breakfast when you feel the most creative, then that’s when you can drop in. Likewise at 3:48am. If you need a bit of direction or like the idea of collaboration, there are a number of workshops scheduled throughout the day that can accommodate. The driving motivation is to encourage people to get creative. There will be all manner of implements, from markers and crayons to traditional Chinese calligraphy pens and pencils – all you have to do is show up.
12pm on Sat, Aug. 10 to 12pm on Sun, Aug. 11 | Project Space, 222 E Georgia St | Free | DETAILS

ROAD TRIP | Wine Country is something beautiful right now. If you can slip away for a weekend in the Okanagan, consider heading to the stunning Similkameen Valley for an al fresco dinner in a vineyard that will capture everything magical about summer: warm air, beautiful light, amazing food, fine conversation and phenomenal wine. The night sees a five course meal using only the best ingredients provided by artisan producers from within a 1.6 mile radius of the Similkameen’s charming Orofino Winery. Preparing the meal will be Cameron Smith and Dana Ewart from Joy Road Catering. Dinner starts with bubbly and canapés at 5:30pm. Shuttles will be available from both Osoyoos and Penticton. Contact 250-499-0068 or admin [at] orofinovineyards.com to make your reservations.
Sat, Aug. 10 | 5:30 | Orofino | Similkameen Valley | $150 per person (worth every penny).

EAT LOCAL |  Grab locally grown produce from good people at your neighbourhood farmer’s market while you still can. Summer will end and you won’t want to look back and wish that you had made it to more markets! This week the one to hit for added excitement is Kitsilano. On Sunday (between 10 and 2), the regular famers market will be bolstered by the addition of a huge family picnic and carnival (rides, games, music and live performance) in partnership with the Kits Community Centre. Just bring a blanket and some sunscreen. Find out more at www.eatlocal.org.

Trout Lake Farmers Market | Saturday | 9am-2pm | Duh, Trout Lake
Kitsilano Farmers Market | Sunday | 10am–2pm | 2690 Larch @ 10th
West End Farmers Market | Saturday | 9am-2pm | 1100 Block Comox
Main Street Thornton Park | Wednesday | 3pm–7pm | Main Street Station at Terminal
UBC: Saturdays | 9-1 | UBC Farm | FREE (but make a donation – they needs the support)
Dundarave: Saturdays | 9am–2pm | Dundarave Village
Ambelside: Sundays| 9am–2pm | Ambleside – parking lot beside Police Station (off of Bellevue/13)

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

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late-may-2009-169Michelle 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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