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!
EAT | There’s a new pizza joint in town. Joe Pizza opened its doors on the southwest corner of Carrall & Cordova in Gastown this week. Expect filling slices of sourdough-crusted ‘al taglio’ style pizza squares in the $5 to $10 range (everything from Margherita and Funghi to Prosciutto and Mortadella). The space itself is lovely and large windowed, lending itself nicely to people who dig watching the world go by.
11am to 4pm | 2 W Cordova St | DETAILS
STRONG FEMALE CHARACTER | There’s a new show opening at Hot Art Wet City Gallery this week. Strong Female Character assembles a trio of female artists to look at “feminine identity, both past and present as defined within Western culture”. Don’t go looking for sugar coated female figures, folks. To wit, check out Mandy Tsung’s series of Bitchy Resting Face portraits, Sherri Rogers’ 24×12 inch depictions of “self actualized and independent women bonded in friendship with other women (these paintings capture movie moments with female characters who pass the Bechdel test: The movie has to have at least two women in it, who talk to each other, about something besides a man)”, and Bronwyn Schuster ink and gold leaf fairytalesque portrayals of femininity in archetypes of myths and legends. Go girls! This show continues until January 28th, but everyone knows that the first night of the show is always the most fun, so hit the launch reception on Friday night.
Fri, Jan. 13 | 7-11pm | Hot Art Wet City Gallery (2206 Main St.) | DETAILS
VERY SUPERSTITION | You might want to take a little extra care around the ladders and black cats this Friday because it’s Friday the 13th. The superstitious date occurs once every 212.35 days, and the 13th of any month is marginally more likely to be a Friday than any other day of the week. We suggest riding it out with a can of counteractive “Lucky” lager and a good dose of fresh air. Still, trust nothing!
CREEPY | Freddy vs. Jason plays at the Rio this Friday night. As The Rio points out: “What better way to spend your Friday, January 13th than at the Rio Theatre with a Friday Late Night Movie that features not one, but two of cinema’s biggest slasher icons battling it out for total nightmare domination?” We’re too chicken-shit, but if you’re into this sort of thing, doors open at 11pm. Courage!
Fri, Jan. 13 | Doors 11pm — Movie 11:30pm | Rio Theatre (1660 E Broadway) | $10 | DETAILS
ART | Take some time out to hit two new exhibits at The Burrard Arts Foundation this week. The Gates of Heaven (mixed media by Keith Langergraber) and Circle, Sphere, Horizon Line (sculpture and video by artist Lyndl Hall) kick off Thursday night with an opening reception and both shows feature an artist talk on Saturday.
OPENING RECEPTION: Thu, Jan. 12 | 7-10pm | DETAILS
ARTIST TALKS | Sat, Jan. 14 | 1pm + 2pm | DETAILS
EAT LOCAL | Don’t forget to pack your reusable tote bags and head to the Winter Farmers Market this weekend. There are two markets to choose from: Nat Bailey Stadium parking lot on Saturday or PNE on Sunday. Load up on locally grown fruits and veggies as well as fresh bread, honey, dried fruits and scores of other goodies.
Sat, Jan. 14 | 10am-2pm | Nat Bailey Stadium (4601 Ontario St) | DETAILS
Sun, Jan. 15 | 10am-2pm | Hastings Park, PNE (Renfrew & Hastings) | DETAILS
FOOD SECURITY | Speaking of farmers, there’s a lecture going down at SFU Monday night called Fight For Farmland. All of us who enjoy locally produced food would benefit from attending. From SFU: “The agricultural regions surrounding Vancouver are some of the most productive on the continent; Abbotsford alone produces twenty two percent of farmgate sales in BC. But rising land prices are creating difficulty for new farmers, and the pressure for more residential use of farmland is rising rapidly.” Listen in as Lenore Newman, Canada Research Chair in Food Security and Environment at the University of the Fraser Valley, talks about intensive agriculture in rural/urban fringe areas like the Fraser Valley. Topics will include food security, ALR, development and land cost.
Mon, Jan. 16 | 6-8pm | SFU Harbour Centre (515 West Hastings) | DETAILS
DRAMA | If you thought Macbeth couldn’t get darker than Shakespeare originally intended, you’d be wrong. The South African theatre troupe Third World Bunfight brings the playwright’s famously broken lord and lady to the stage of the Playhouse this week with a “vibrant, dark and visceral interpretation [that] sets Shakespeare’s story of greed, tyranny and remorse in the Democratic Republic of Congo.” Boom – super different! A little modern day reality sobers things up pretty fast, right? This powerful performance is set to open Sunday and runs January 16, 17, 19, 20, 21 at 7:30pm.
January 16-21 | 7:30pm | Vancouver Playhouse (600 Hamilton St) | $60-$99 | DETAILS
LECTURE | Iranian architect Leila Araghian speaks at Robson Square this Monday evening. Araghian specializes in the design, production and installation of membrane structures (and was the lead architect and designer of the award winning Tabiat Pedestrian Bridge in Tehran — have a look at this cool structure here). The UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture always rounds-up interesting people to talk about interesting subjects and innovative projects. Grab a seat at this free public lecture and leave inspired.
Mon, Jan 16| 6:30pm | UBC Robson Square (800 Robson St) | DETAILS
NATURE | Man oh man the weather has been stunning! Get outside and enjoy it. Hit the trails out at the Endowment Lands and watch the sunlight filter through trees or hustle to a patch of shoreline and do some winter beachcombing. We like Iona this time of year; it’s relatively quiet and combines marsh, river, beach and breakwater.
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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 streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy (but faithful) camera.