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. You can also check it out in the Globe &; Mail, from our calendar to yours…

HISTORY | The H.R. MacMillan Space Centre is looking to show off it’s new digital planetarium projection system this week with part one of a two part speaker series – Through the Lens: Building Vancouver’s History. For this event the Space Centre has joined forces with the City of Vancouver Archives and historian John Atkin to use a special collection of large format historical photographs to take the audience on a digital walking tour of Downtown Vancouver, Mount Pleasant and Burrard Inlet as it was in the early 1900s. Part two of the series (Wednesday, December 4th) will guide you through Kerrisdale, False Creek and Granville Island.
Wed,  Nov. 6 | Doors 6:30pm, Show 7pm | H.R. MacMillan Space Centre 1100 Chestnut | $13 | DETAILS

WRITE IT DOWN | It’s letter writing time at the Regional Assembly of Text. Get it together now and you can get your holiday greeting card list well underway with hand-written cards. Think about that for a second. How great would it be to have something other than bank statements and phone bills come through that old mail slot? Do a good thing. Send someone a letter!
Thur, Nov. 7 | 7pm | Regional Assembly of Text (3934 Main Street) | Free | DETAILS

CRAFTY | ‘Tis the season of the craft fair. That means we’ll start seeing community centres, church basements and school gyms throughout the city fill up with tables and booths displaying all manner of unique and handmade gifts. Things get rolling this week with a gathering of 300 artists, designers and artisans, drawn from across the country and wrangled together by the good folks at Circle Craft (a BC artist cooperative that exists to connect craftspeople with community for over 40 years now). Skip the malls and box stores. Buy small, independent and locally hand-made at the Vancouver Convention Centre this Thursday through Monday. That’s everything from jewellery and jam to woodwork and textiles.
Nov. 7-11 | Vancouver Convention Centre (1055 Canada Place)| $12 | DETAILS

BISTRO WAGON ROUGE | Fans of Hastings-Sunrise’s popular Red Wagon diner will be glad to learn that its chef/proprietor, Brad Miller, has opened a very cozy, casual, cheap and cheerful French bistro. Bistro Wagon Rouge is located at 1869 Powell Street in the old Dockers Diner spot at the foot of Victoria Drive. The space retains some original diner decor (chequered floor, banquettes converted from booths, old photographs, et cetera) but also sees a lovely new zinc bar running the length of the space and lighting that is dead sexy. The menu has a traditional French feel with items like french onion soup, escargot, steak tartar, pate plates, beef bourguignon, steak frites, cassoulet, and moules with drink options that include a short and sweet wine list as well as a carefully considered selection of cocktails, aperitifs, and beer. Our first pass the other night was amazing.
Wagon Rouge (1869 Powell Street) | 5-10pm | Tuesday through Saturday | DETAILS

SUPPORT | The East Side Boxing Gym is an East Vancouver not-for-profit organization committed to providing community members a positive environment to develop a healthy training regiment. The gym is for everyone, but has always aimed to support at-risk kids and youth and women dealing violence by providing them access to a space (and coaches) that encourages persistence, respect and self-confidence. Last weekend the gym, furnished with new equipment and housed in a new space with money raised by Aprons For Gloves, was destroyed by fire. It’s a sad turn of events, but this is an a group of Eastside boxers, they aren’t taking time out to cry. Rearrange your schedules for Sunday night and join the East Side Boxing Gym crew at The Bottleneck for a fundraiser that will contribute to seeing the gym re-established. Doors open at 5pm. Beer will be on sale and the final episode of the Aprons For Gloves documentary will be on the screen. A donation of $5 is requested at the door but if you can swing it, throw a few extra bucks in the pot.
Sun, Nov. 10 | Doors 5pm | The Bottleneck 870 Granville St | Donation of $5 | DETAILS

EQUINOX | There is a mind-blower of a three part photography exhibition going on at The Equinox Gallery right now. Get this: Fred Herzog: Unseen Photographs, Twenty Photographic Pictures by David Hockney, and a selection of works by Geoffrey James are simultaneously hanging on the walls of the gallery for viewing (and general jaw dropping appreciation) until November 23. That’s a lot of talent under one roof!
Tues-Sat, until Nov. 23 | 10am-5pm | Equinox Gallery (525 Great Northern Way) | DETAILS 

ART | Once a year Vancouver art enthusiasts Chris Bentzen and Jim Hoehnle curate a show of the works of 50 local artists, called Hot One Inch Action – the twist is that every piece in the show must fit inside a 1″ button. Those attending the show can purchase a mixed pack of five pieces of art that fit on to buttons for $5, the catch is that the pack will be random and you may not score the item you were after, that’s when the fun begins and people start bargaining and trading. We have it on good authority that the usual 50 artists may have been jumped up to 60 for this year’s show (they added one extra artist for each year that the event has been running). Check it out here.
Sat, Nov. 9 | 8-11pm | Hot Art Wet City (2206 Main @ 6th) | DETAILS

POP-UP | Vancouver artist Edward Juan digs the outdoors. He loves to surf and hike and he appreciates the details that he encounters as he explores the natural world – the flowers, leaves, evergreen cones and various kinds of kelp, it’s all beautiful to him. So compelling, in fact, that he takes this love of nature, transforms it into sweet-looking graphics and proceeds to silkscreen or letterpress print those on tea towels, tote bags, cards and calendars. Ed’s stunning line of textiles and prints is called Forest & Waves and he’s having a pop-up shop at The Chinatown Experiment over the next few weeks.  Poke your head in Monday to Friday 11-6pm, Saturday 10-7pm and Sunday 11-5pm.
Nov. 8 – Nov. 24 | The Chinatown Experiment (434 Columbia Street) | DETAILS

VINYL | Nothing sounds quite like vinyl. It’s the difference between film and digital, ink and keystroke, a proper cup of coffee and the instant stuff. Vinyl has soul and depth. If you need any convincing, head to the Main Street Vinyl Record Fair this weekend and throw yourself in wax’s deep end. On Saturday and Sunday afternoon, The Cambrian Hall (just off Main at 17th), will be swarming with vinyl lovers buying, selling or trading new and used records. You can talk old school stereo equipment, wear your old Clash shirt and marvel at the fact that there are still people out there hoarding cassette tapes.
Sat, Nov. 9 + Sun, Nov. 10 | 11am-4pm | Cambrian Hall (215 E 17th) | $2 at the door | DETAILS

REMEMBER | Slow down and appreciate the gravity of your moment of silence this Remembrance Day. Services take place at numerous locations around town on Sunday morning, but the biggie will start around 10:30am at the Victory Square Cenotaph on the western edge of Gastown.
Mon, Nov. 11 | 10:30am | Victory Square Cenotaph (corner of Hastings St and Cambie St.)

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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