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

The Scout List Vol. 437

From our calendar to yours comes this carefully considered agenda of cool things we are doing, wishing we could do, or conspiring to do in Vancouver from September 6 to September 12, 2017. Please note that you can now get the Scout List – with a few extra pieces of intel included – sent to your inbox every Thursday. Sign up for your subscription in the sidebar.

SWARM | Vancouver’s artist-run centre programming season is about to kick-off. What does that mean for you? A jam-packed few days of openings and events at a bunch of Vancouver’s coolest independent, non-profit, and artist-run galleries! On Thursday night you can catch openings at Grunt Gallery and Malaspina Printmakers on Granville Island. On Friday, hit up Access Gallery, Artspeak, Dynamo Arts, Centre A, Cineworks, Gallery Gachet, Or Gallery and The Phoenix. Check out the full line-up of Swarm events at www.paarc.ca. Sept. 7+8 | Various times and locations | DETAILS

FAN FICTION | Love yourself some M*A*S*H? Consider making your way over to The Toast Collective on Thursday, Not only will there be a fan fiction reading, but also M*A*S*H trivia and some unrelated but potentially riveting Pacman stories. Best not to ask questions; just show up and let the evening take you where it might. If you really need to understand more, you can piece it together on the Toast’s FB page here. Thu, Sept. 7 | 8pm | The Toast Collective (648 Kingsway) | Free | DETAILS

EASTSIDE FLEA | If you’re looking to change up or update your Fall wardrobe with a few key pieces or are inspired to shake things up at home with some cool accent pieces, Eastside Flea is where you’ll want to be this weekend. Peruse booth after curated booth of goodies from over 55 local vendors on Friday night (6-10pm), plus Saturday and Sunday (10am-4pm). Bonus: pinball, pool, music, food trucks and cocktails. See you there. Sept. 8-10 | various times | Ellis Building (1024 Main St.) | $3 | DETAILS

SCORE | The annual Eugene Choo / Block garage sale goes down this Saturday. Expect deals on A.P.C., Filippa K, Steven Alan, Ulla Johnson and much, much more. All previous year’s merchandise is being priced between $10-$200 and all in-store merchandise is 15% off. Great deals, excellent people! Sat, Sept. 9 | 11am – 6 pm | Rain or shine | In the alley behind Eugene Choo (3683 Main St.) | DETAILS

TREES | It’s a bit of a hike, but the Treefest out in Coquitlam sounds like it’ll be really interesting. The celebration of trees and heritage puts an emphasis on the collection of trees out at the old Riverview Hospital. Tag along on one of the walking tours of ‘significant and unusual trees’ found on the 2 acre horticultural therapy garden or take a seat for a bus tour of the Riverview grounds with former staff members on board. There will also be children’s crafts and games, live entertainment, and heritage building tours. Sun, Sept. 10 | 11am–4pm | Riverview Hospital (2601 Lougheed Hwy) | Free | DETAILS

DRAMA | The Vancouver Fringe Festival is on with 100 ‘alternative theatre’ shows (700 performances) at venues all around the city. From short and funny to long and heavy, expect to find actors, writers, poets and performers telling stories in that old school analog way: on a stage in front of an audience. Get into it! Tickets are still available and a little performance goes a long way. Now through Sept. 18 | Various times and locations | $various | DETAILS

SEA | The Twenty-Three Days at Sea project sounds pretty rad. Hosted by Access Gallery in partnership with the Burrard Arts Foundation and Contemporary Art Gallery, the program sees local artists taking up residency on a freighter as it crosses the Pacific Ocean from Vancouver to Shanghai. This Friday night, Twenty-Three Days at Sea, Chapter 2 opens at the Access Gallery. Scoot in to check out art by Michael Drebert, Lili Huston-Herterich, Rebecca Moss and Sikarnt Skoolisariyaporn. Fri, Sept. 8 | 7pm | Access Gallery (222 E. Georgia St.) | DETAILS

ART | Michelle Nguyen’s debut exhibition ‘Of Tristia, Forlorn!’ opens at Bau-Xi Gallery this week. Nguyen’s work is rich and haunting. From the gallery: “Stemming from a childhood fascination with death, ‘Of Tristia, Forlorn!’ explores the symbiosis between life after death, and death after life. Heavily influenced by poetry and cultural superstition, Nguyen examines these themes through the surreal, macabre, erotic and oftentimes humorous subjects in her oil and pastel canvases.” The opening reception for this show happens on Saturday, September 9 (2-4 pm) but works stay on the walls until September 23. Sept. 9 | 2-4pm | 3045 Granville St. | DETAILS

MUSIC | The Accordion Noir Festival happens this weekend. From event organizers: “Breaking all rules of what is normal or possible, the Accordion Noir Festival returns to celebrate its 10th annual festival with a lineup of artists and events that threatens to tear the fabric of reality in Vancouver.” Folk, indie rock, blue grass, – even punk – the accordion can handle it all. Expect performances, workshops, album releases and something called Drink-o-Bingo.
Sept. 7-10 | Various locations, times and prices | DETAILS

EAT LOCAL | This is harvest season and the Farmers Markets are a tasty way to appreciate that fact. Hit up your local market to stock up on fresh local food. All kinds of berries are happening right now, plus salad greens, zucchini and herbs galore, squash is starting to come in. Apples too. Also cheeses, artisan breads, preserves, honey, wild salmon, cookies, and pies. Support the people who grow and make our food! DETAILS
Main Street | Wed, 2-6pm | 1100 Station Street
Downtown | Thu, 11am-3pm | Queen Elizabeth Theatre
West End | Sat, 9am-2pm | 1100 Block of Comox
Trout Lake | Sat, 9am-2pm | North Parking Lot, John Hendry Park
Riley Park | Sat, 10am – 2pm| 30th Avenue & Ontario Street
Kits | Sun, 10am-2pm | 2690 Larch @ 10th
Mount Pleasant | Sun, 10am-2pm | Dude Chilling Park 

EXPLORE | Pack up and make for Deep Cove. Take the famous Quarry Rock hike, do some sailing, paddle boarding, or kayaking, or hit the beach for some end-of-the-summer swimming. Aside from the plethora of outdoor activities, the ‘Cove’ is also home to a number of excellent little shops & cafes (when you’re ready for a break).  The Blue Magic Smoothie at Blue House Market will get you off to a good start while a midday stop at Osaka Sushi or Deep Water Micro Eatery is a perfect midday break. Wind down by checking out the local goods at A’HoyRoom 6 and Sunnyside before capping it all off with wine and cheese at Cafe Orso or an al fresco dinner at The Arm’s Reach Bistro. 

Transition Into 2024 with Some Quality Downtime

From our calendar to yours comes this carefully considered agenda of cool things we are doing, wishing we could do, or conspiring to do in Vancouver, from now until January 8th, 2024.

Scout List, Vol. 601

From our calendar to yours comes this carefully considered agenda of cool things we are doing, wishing we could do, or conspiring to do in Vancouver, right now.

Scout List, Vol. 600

From our calendar to yours comes this carefully considered agenda of cool things we are doing, wishing we could do, or conspiring to do in Vancouver, from March 30th to April 5th, 2023.

Scout List, Vol. 599

From our calendar to yours comes this carefully considered agenda of cool things we are doing, wishing we could do, or conspiring to do in Vancouver over the days and weeks ahead.