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

Ten Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now And 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. You can also check it out in the Globe & Mail, from our calendar to theirs…and yours!

BODY ART | There’s a tattoo show going down at the Vancouver Convention Centre over the weekend. In addition to booths and tables manned by vendors and artists, expect special guest artists, demonstrations, workshops and contests, not to mention a lot of inked skin.
Apr. 25-27 | Various times | Vancouver Convention Centre | $20 | DETAILS

AFFORDABLE ART | Phantoms in the Front Yard is an 8-person artists’ collective comprised of established local artists that use the human figure as their muse. Phantoms will be doing a one night only show at the Burrard Hotel this Friday night. The crew will be taking over 3 hotel rooms to exhibit hundreds of miniature paintings and drawings (everything shown will be in an under 10″ x 10″ format) based on the theme of ‘Everyone I’ve Never Known’. As explained by Phantoms in the Front Yard member Jay Senetchko, the show is about “strangers who have influenced us but we’ve never really known, or, strangers we feel like we know but have never met. From Charles Darwin to your local bank teller…” The super good news is that the art will be priced in the $200-$500 range, and there will be music, cool people, a cash bar, and an after-party (also free).
Fri, Apr. 25 | 6pm – 8:30pm with after party to follow | 1100 Burrard St. | DETAILS

EVEN MORE AFFORDABLE ART | Once a year Vancouver art enthusiast Chris Bentzen curates a show of the works of 50 (mostly) local artists. It’s called Carded, and the twist is that every piece in the show fits on a 2.5 x 3.5 card. All of the card-sized works are displayed on the walls of the gallery but show attendees are also able to purchase a mixed pack of five pieces of the baseball/hockey card-sized art for $5. The only catch is that the pack will be random and you may not score the item you were after. And that’s when the fun begins…people start bargaining and trading. Don’t be alarmed to hear statements like: “You’ve got a Sophia Ahamed? I’ll trade you my Exploding Haggis for your Ahamed!” It’s a fun and interactive way to score some art at affordable prices. Organisers expect the show to sell out so think about arriving early to avoid disappointment.
Sat, Apr. 26 | 7-11pm | Hot Art Wet City (2206 Main @ 6th) | DETAILS

DINE | The Swallow Tail Secret Supper Club is holding one of their quick-to-sell-out dinners this weekend. This meal will be a South Indian vegetarian feast, so you can expect everything from kormas and curries to chutneys and fritters. Swallow Tail – always looking to add an extra level of detail to their dining experiences – has arranged for each guest at their table to take home an original watercolour (inspired by ingredients used for the meal) by local artist Angela Fama. Seats are going fast, so don’t dilly-dally.
Sat, Apr. 26 | 6:30 – 9:30pm | Location revealed with ticket purchase | $59 | DETAILS

COMMUNITY | The development of the site is still in the early planning stages but The Vancouver Park Board is planning to slap a new park on corner of Yukon Street and 17th Avenue. Hooray for more parks! It’s not often that a community gets to be in on the planning stages of a new green space in their neighbourhood, so get involved by attending an open house on Saturday. Learn more about the project, offer your insights and impressions, and swap ideas with your neighbours.
Sat, Apr. 26 | 10am – 2pm | 17th Avenue and Yukon Street | DETAILS 

GET GROWING | Evidence of Spring is already pushing through the soil. Feeling perplexed as to how to get things growing? The ladies of Victory Gardens are offering a Spring Gardening Basics class this Saturday morning that will walk you through the steps of preparing your garden for a season of plentiful food production. Not only will participants of this 101 style workshop leave schooled on the importance of compost and soil, they’ll also learn about when to plant what, which edible plants will do well in Vancouver soil, how to sew seeds and how to safely transplant seedlings from pot to garden, and so on. Each participant will receive a pack of organic seeds and some notes on Spring Gardening Basics. Following this workshop there will be a gardening supply sale. The perfect way to start the first week of Spring!
Saturday, April 26 | 10:30am | 151 W 1st Ave | $20 | DETAILS

PITCH IN | Here’s a fine way to rack up some karma points: roll up your sleeves and join in a city-wide spring cleanup. Keep Vancouver Spectacular is a City program that provides community members with gloves, garbage bags, and tools for trash pickup when they carry out coordinated block-clean ups. This Saturday morning you can put on your grubby clothes and spend an hour or two picking up litter from streets and laneways in the Fraser & Broadway area. After the work is done, everyone is invited to head to the Mount Pleasant Community Centre for lunch. Block cleanup are happening all across the city throughout May.
Sat, Apr. 26 | 9:30am | Fraser & Broadway (2500 Block Fraser) | DETAILS

ARCHITECTURE | The Vancouver Heritage Foundation is hosting their annual Vancouver Special Tour this weekend. Look inside five new and amazingly renovated Vancouver Specials! It’s a one day, ticketed, self-guided event that celebrates innovation and design and asks the important question: ‘What can you do to make one of the least appealing architectural styles livable in a modern context?’ From Vancouver Heritage Foundation: “In 2014 we’ll visit visit a Joe Wai Special – an architectural style unique to Strathcona, as well as an unexpectedly beautiful in-law suite, and a Special constructed entirely of cinder block. Come see what it took to make a bunker-like Special into a success (hint, concrete saws were required). Explore how a standardized design continues to flourish behind a Vancouver movement to revitalize and reinterpret this uniquely-Vancouver house style today.”
Sat, Apr. 26 | 12-3pm | Various locations | $30 | DETAILS

ICONS | Head to the magical subterranean caverns of the Biltmore Cabaret this Sunday and browse hand-picked vintage like you’ve never seen before. Expect vintage-clothing vendors, flea-market finds, fancy antiques, accessories, stuffed animals, shoes, jewellery, records, retro household items, cameras, and all manner of other curious trinkets. This is a cabaret, so the bar will be open! Shoppin’, drinkin’, and dancin’ encouraged!
Sun, Apr. 27 | 11 am–5 pm | Biltmore Cabaret (2755 Prince Edward) | DETAILS

BIKE SWAP |  It’s getting to be that time of the year when we can start to think about cruising around the city on a bike (and not just for transportation sake but for, well,  for the mere sun-on-your-face-with-a-breeze pleasure of it). Don’t have a bike or looking to trade in your old ride for something slicker? You’re in luck, because this weekend brings with it a vintage bicycle swap at Britannia Centre. Buy, sell or trade bikes as well as parts and tools. Cruisers, BMX, road bikes and muscle bikes – they’ll all be there, looking for new homes.
Sun, Apr. 27 | 10am | Britannia Community Centre (1661 Napier) | DETAILS

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 streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy (but faithful) camera.

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