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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, from our calendar to yours!

ARTIST’S TALK | SFU’s School for the Contemporary Arts hosts a talk with the Spring 2017 Audain Visual Artist in Residence this Thursday night. As SFU explains, Jacqueline Hoàng Nguyen “ is a research-based artist currently living and working in Stockholm. She uses a broad range of media while primarily relying on archival material to investigate issues of historicity, collectivity, utopian politics, and multiculturalism within the framework of feminist theories.” This looks like an event you’d want to activate a few extra brain cells for. If you can swing that you might just leave thinking lots of new things about history, archiving, colonialism and feminism. Yay brain cells!
Thu, Jan. 19 | 7 pm | Djavad Mowafaghian Centre (149 W Hastings St.) | DETAILS

NIGHT AT THE MUSEUM | Little known fact: every now and again the Beaty Biodiversity Museum keeps its doors open late with admission by donation. This Thursday is one of those nights. Make your way out to UBC for a wander. Take a tour, catch a screening of Raising Big Blue (a cool documentary that chronicles the drama involved in recovering, cleaning, and restoring the massive blue whale skeleton that hangs in the museum foyer) or just enjoy the surrounding while listening to a musical performance by Redshift Music Society. “Composed and performed by Mark McGregor, the programme will explore various cultural ties between Pacific Rim nations through six new pieces for solo flute that correspond to the six collections featured at the Beaty Biodiversity Museum (tetrapods, marine invertebrate, herbarium, insects, fish, and fossils).” You want original? There you go!
Thu, Jan. 19 | 5-8pm | 2212 Main Mall, UBC | DETAILS

BREAD | There’s a new bakery in town. Hustle yourself over to Fife Bakery (64 East 3rd Avenue) and get in on some of the satisfying and rustic Levain loaf action. But do yourself a favour and do your hustling early. Opening hours are 12-6 or until they sell out and sell out might just come first. And since you’re making it a mission, you should probably also snag some delicate brioche and gooey chocolate chip cookies. Because you’re there anyway, right?
Tuesday-Saturday | 12-6pm (or sell out) | 64 East 3rd Avenue | DETAILS

FASTER PUSSYCAT | The 1960’s cult classic Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill! is the midnight movie at the Rio this week. The story of three naughty girls on an unruly desert adventure involves tight jeans, high boots, seduction, destruction, fast cars and karate. From the Rio: “Three strippers seeking thrills encounter a young couple in the desert. After dispatching the boyfriend, they take the girl hostage and begin scheming on a crippled old man living with his two sons in the desert, reputedly hiding a tidy sum of cash. They become house guests of the old man and try and seduce the sons in an attempt to locate the money, not realizing that the old man has a few sinister intentions of his own.” What’s not to love? $10 at the door or  – and here’s the real opportunity for fun for everyone – $8 in film-related costume.
Fri, Jan. 20 | Doors 11:30pm, movie 11:55pm | Rio Theatre (1660 E Broadway) | $8/$10 | DETAILS

DO SOMETHING | If you’re feeling frustrated by the incoming Trump administration, you’re obviously not alone. Don’t stay home for a sad play-by-play of the inauguration proceedings on the TV. Make your way instead to Bandidas Taqueria on Commercial Drive. The bustling taqueria will be using the inauguration to launch a group show featuring art that responds to Trump’s election. 100% of profits from the sales of the day will go to supporting non-profits and organizations that may need extra resources to fight the potentially damaging policies likely to emerge from a Trump presidency. From Bandidas: “We’ll be supporting 8 to 10 organizations altogether: some examples of these organizations include the The American Civil Liberties Union, The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Planned Parenthood, and League of Conservation Voters. We will ask those who attend the event to cast votes for how the money we raise is split amongst the organizations. In this way, we can act as a community to funnel our financial support for human rights and environmental protection.” The event runs all day, from 9am until 1am. While there is no cost to get in, burrito purchases are strongly encouraged!
Fri, Jan. 20 | 9am-1am | Bandidas Taqueria (2781 Commercial Dr.) | DETAILS

INAUGURATION | Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 45th President of the United States on Friday. If you’re having trouble wrapping your head around that, you might want to attend a free screening of the swearing-in ceremony at SFU where the approach is to view this inauguration as an “opportunity to raise intellectual and political questions and concerns, to think critically and historically about what is happening now and what the future might hold.” Expect a number of brief lectures, videos, readings and performances to give context to the event as well as a period for questions and comments from the audience.
Fri, Jan. 20 | 11:30am-2pm | SFU Vancouver, Harbour Centre, 515 W. Hastings | DETAILS

CELEBRATE | Get into the spirit of Chinese New Year with a walk through the paths at the Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Gardens this week. Starting today (until February 24) the Garden hosts the exhibition, ‘Coming Home: Traditions of Chinese New Year’. Through an array of multi-sensory installations, traditional food tastings and education panels, the exhibit ignites the four unique pillars of Chinese New Year: decorating, eating, connecting and celebrating.
Now – February 24 | 10am–4pm | Included with admission, free for Garden members

PIE | It’s National Pie day on Monday! It doesn’t matter how you celebrate, but celebrate you should. Our choice would be a hang out with bakers and beer makers and the stuffing of our guts with beer and pie. Get this: Powell St Brewery releases it’s newly casked saisons this week (Mango, Black Currant and Raspberry) and being that it’s National Pie Day they are offering a special deal that gets you a pint paired with slice of pie whipped up by their neighbours, the always amazing French sisters from The Pie Shoppe. Swoop in on Monday (2-8pm) and have yourself a mango saison and some coconut custard cream pie with lemongrass and lime leaves. And because National Pie Day should actually be a week (and because Powell St. only has one tap going at a time), you can also slip in on Tuesday, Jan 24 (2-9 pm) for black currant saison and apple black currant pie with spent brown sugar crumble, or on Wednesday, Jan 25 (2-9pm) for a Raspberry Saison paired with raspberry cassis buttermilk custard pie. Guaranteed good times – unless they run out – which could happen…so don’t dilly dally.
Mon, Jan. 23 | Powell Street Brewery (1357 Powell St.) | $10/pint+slice 

GREASY SPOON | Chef Mark Singson, founder of the collaborative Family Matters pop-up dinner series (and former Annalena sous chef), is on deck to cook the next Greasy Spoon dinner at Save On Meats (two seatings on January 23). If you’re unfamiliar with the concept, the Greasy Spoon Supper Series invites BC’s best chefs to plate four courses of old school diner fare in their own way in support of A Better Life Foundation. The menu looks fantastic.
Mon, Jan. 23 | Two seatings: 5:30pm & 8pm | 43 West Hastings St. | $98 | DETAILS

DINE OUT | Strapped for cash after the holidays but still keen on exploring Vancouver’s diverse culinary scene? Lucky for you it’s time for Dine Out. This year, over 280 restaurants are on board offering everything from discounted, multi-course and prix fixe meals ($20, $30, $40 per person) to special events (love the sound of the Vancouver World Chef Exchange dinners, that see chefs from London, New York, San Francisco, Mexico City and Galway swoop in to town to partner up with local chefs to offer Vancouverites some unique dining experiences). Dine Out runs for two weeks and there’s a lot of ground to cover. Develop a plan of attack here.
Jan. 20 – Feb. 5 | Various Locations | Various Prices | DETAILS

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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.

There is 1 comment

  1. you’ve got the inauguration but you are missing the women’s march on washington-vancouver edition!!

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