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!

CONNECT | The Sustenance Festival is a series of fantastic food-related events held by the Vancouver Parks Board. They’re designed to connect local communities to the concept of food security. This year, learn about native wild edible plant identification, take pickling and canning classes, attend gardening talks, dance a Harvest Dance, get involved in a potluck, or take a seat at the Vancouver Farmers Market fundraiser dinner, aptly dubbed Ripe (see entry below) The theme for this year’s festival is “As we are, together”, so expect honest, simple and collaborative. Events go down at community centres all over the city.
Now – Oct 25 | City of Vancouver Community & Recreation Centres | DETAILS

RIPE | Take full advantage of the amazing autumnal window to slow down and eat. Nobody knows local better than the Farmers Market peeps and this Sunday they’re gathering a contingent of fine Vancouver chefs from Burdock & Co, Forage, Vij’s, Yew, West, Supermarine and Exile Bistro (among other restaurants) to play with some outstanding ingredients from local farms and producers. Together, they will present Ripe attendees with a series of 10 unique booths and tastes emblematic of the harvest season. Get in on it!
Sun, Oct 18 | 4-8pm | Roundhouse Community Centre, Yaletown | $85 | DETAILS

ENGAGE | Interested, inspired, or straight-up concerned about the direction of heritage preservation in Vancouver? Take some time out to join Chief City Planner Brian Jackson to talk about the future and the past. As Heritage Vancouver explains: “Heritage issues over the past year have included the Heritage Action Plan, Heritage Schools, Sinclair Centre, the Main Post Office, First Shaughnessy, the Heritage Register update, St. Paul’s Hospital, and Waterfront Tower.  This is a great opportunity to hear about what to expect for the future of heritage planning for our city as Mr. Jackson retires and a new head planner taking over.” See you there!
Thu, Oct 15 | 6:30pm to 8:30pm | Vancouver City Hall (453 West 12th) | $10 | DETAILS

MAKE | Admit it, you’ve always wanted to get in to silversmithing, but when you get down to it, the commitment of time, money, materials, and tools was too daunting. Until now! Scoot to the adorable Tiny Finery shop in Hastings/Sunrise and take A Ring In A Day workshop. From event organizers: “…choose from four different sterling silver styles with innumerable variations and customizations. Techniques that will be taught include sizing a ring, sawing through metal, filing, annealing, soldering, forming, creating texture, polishing and other finishing.” The best part: all participants leave with a ring. Only a few spots left for this class, so get moving and register!
Sat, Oct 17 | 12-4pm | Tiny Finery (2162 E Hastings St) | $140 | DETAILS

BIBLIOPHILES | The Vancouver Art/Book Fair goes down this weekend. Head to the Vancouver Art Gallery Annex to check out artist-produced books, magazines, and all manner of printed ephemera. This show will feature small runs of locally published books, chapbook, magazines, zines and printed ephemera – we’re talking somewhere in the range of 100 artists and publishers represented, so there’ll be a considerable amount of creativity to be appreciated – as well as a series of readings, panels, performances and installations.
Oct. 17 & 18 | Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby Street) | DETAILS

GIG | Vancouver indie-folk superheroes Destroyer play The Commodore Ballroom Saturday night. Destroyer + home crowd + Commodore + Saturday night + cold beer + good people? That’s some good math right there, equalling a good time.
Sat, Oct 17 | Doors 7pm | Commodore Ballroom (868 Granville St) | $23.50 | DETAILS

APPLES | One of the sure signs that fall is officially in full swing is the annual UBC Apple Festival, and it’s happening this weekend. Join throngs of happy apple-loving Vancouverites at the UBC Botanical Gardens this weekend and get into the spirit! Not only will there be apples galore, but you can also expect apple pie, hot apple cider, caramel apples, apple chips, and organic BC apple juice. Master Gardeners will be available to discuss apple-tree related gardening issues and pest management with those of you who have trees at home. Bonus: there will be trees to take home and plant!
Oct 17 + 18 | 11am to 4pm | UBC Botanical Garden | $4 (kids free) | DETAILS

PECHA KUCHA | Pecha Kucha goes down this week and it’s sounding pretty sweet. Volume #38 is a joint presentation between the good folks at Cause + Affect and Emily Carr University. Expect to be inspired by the likes of local artist Ben Skinner; the always engaging and super talented Ricky Alvarez; hard working and visionary Pamela Rounis from SAD Mag; as well as some heavy hitters like Bruce Grenville (Senior Curator, Vancouver Art Gallery) and artist Germaine Koh. The list goes on and is impressive to the last. PKNV tends to sell out, so get moving and grab a few seats while there are still tickets to be had!
Fri, Oct 16 | 6:30pm | The Vogue Theatre (918 Granville) | $10.50 | DETAILS

OUT OF TOWN | Pack a bag and hit the Sea-To-Sky for Whistler and the Whistler Writers Festival. The annual celebration of books and literature goes down at The Fairmont Hotel (in and of itself a nice place to spend a little time) and offers inspiring workshops, readings and panels as well as a bunch of spoken word, musical and social events (the scenery and fresh mountain air ain’t so bad either). Seriously, Lost Lake is a stunner this time of year. Get planning.
Oct 16-18 | Various times | Fairmont Chateau Whistler | DETAILS

VOTE! | It may not be the most fun you’ll have all weekend but voting is important. Whoever you vote for, it’s definitely one of the ten things that you should do between now and next week. Elections Canada has the most unsexy website ever created to furnish you with details on candidates, registration procedure and voting locations. Don’t fuck around. It’s time for you to weigh in on who you think should run the country.
Mon, Oct 19 | All Day / MANY locations | DETAILS