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 July 4 to July 10, 2018. 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.

HOP THE MILLENNIAL LINE | Hop over to the Toast Collective on Thursday for a truly entertaining evening. Millennial Line includes six local performers and is the first of what will hopefully bloom into an ongoing series of comedy and poetry. From the event’s organizers: “100% less service delays and commuter headaches…we have beer, we have our dwindling youth, student loan debt, social media anxiety, we have septum piercings, and we have this night of great performances by these six (6) amazing poets and comedians of colour (pcoc)!!!” They’ve already hooked enough support to sell out online advance tickets, but fortunately 20-30 will still be available at the door. Show up early to ensure you can get in on the action! Find out more.

WILD | There’s a one-night-only photo retrospective going down in Chinatown this Thursday night that we think is worth clearing some time on your schedule for. Curated by photographer Lincoln Clarkes, Wild Life by Mandy-Lyn brings together a series of analog photographs that span the last 10 years of Vancouver photographer Mandy-Lyn Antoniou’s career. Expect big, bold, empowering and controversial photographs. Need some context? Mandy-Lyn’s work has been featured in Playboy, Penthouse, Vogue, Juxtapoz and Vice. Hit her website here for context. Find out more.

ART |  Another one-night only show, another reason to rearrange your social calendar! ‘Untitled & Friends’ is a group show that celebrates the ideas of collectivism, togetherness and friends, but as curators Lauren D Zbarsky and Frank Lemoy explain it: “The theme is open-ended to encourage artists to interpret in whatever way they choose, focusing on their own personal style and ideas they’d like to explore”. Check out work by Tierney Milne , Chris Dammeyer, Mikaela Kautzky, Sam Fidlin, Thomas Trnka and Tori Swanson. Artwork in the front, lounge with music, drinks and hangout zone in the back on Friday night. Don’t miss this one!

FRIED CHICKEN | National Fried Chicken Day goes down this Friday (and there was much rejoicing). If you were looking for an excuse to lean into a plate (or bucket) of the tasty business, this is the day to justify it. Gluten free and juicy at Juke; slathered in dressing and served in a bun at Re-Up; boneless with dill powder at Fable Diner; simple but elevated at Annalena; straight-up awesome at Two Rivers in North Vancouver; hot at new kid on the block Downlow Chicken Shack; the Combo #3 at My Chau; ooh, and that buttermilk fried perfection at Burdock & Co.! So many options…

KHATSAHLANO | Khatsahlano Street Party happens Saturday and it’s going to be sweet. Expect stages across 10 blocks of West 4th showcasing over some of Vancouver’s finest independent bands and solo musicians as well as many other artists and performers (full line-up here). Bonus: beer gardens and a family zone – depending on which way you swing! Be sure to check out the recently opened Their There cafe (serving coffee from Portland’s Heart Roasters and delicious baked goods). Pro tip: you don’t want to drive to this gig, so find another mode of transport. Find out more.

CULTURE | The Indian Summer Festival kicks off this week. With dozens of events (many free) at multiple venues over 10 days, this is a festival with a lot to experience. Expect musical performances, brain-expanding talks, visual arts exhibitions, public art programming, and some really, really great food. Our pick this week is the 5×15 talk at The Imperial on Saturday night (7-9pm). From event organizers: 5×15 is “five eclectic artists who will speak for fifteen minutes, unscripted, on a topic they are deeply passionate about. What the audience gets is a quick, sharp and diverse lineup of artists, speaking on an eclectic range of topics with rigour and wit!” Score tickets to 5×15 here. Find out more about Indian Summer Festival there.

EXPLORE | Streets will be closed to traffic to make way for dancing, dining and chalk drawing along Union Street in Strathcona this Saturday. Even if you don’t live in the neighbourhood, this block party is a great excuse for an east side wander. Start at Main & Union and head east, you’ll hit the block party epicentre somewhere around Heatley. Afterwards, we suggest you chill out in McLean Park or keep walking east until you cross the tracks and run up against the bright pink building that houses La Casa Gelato (1033 Venables St. @ Glen). Open until 11pm and serving up more than 200 flavours (everything from peanut butter and jelly to pear and gorgonzola).

GET LOOSE | There’s a rad duo of vintage fashion and art going down in Chinatown this weekend, put on by an equally awesome pair of talented ladies, local artist Megan Dietrich and style blogger Lydia Okello. They’ve teamed up with to organize LOOSE Pop-Up, a Saturday night art party and market where Dietrich will be peddling her illustrated prints and other merch, followed by a Sunday daytime vintage shop featuring threads selected by Okello. What could be cooler than that? Answer: part of the proceeds from sales will be donated to the Chinatown Action Group. Find out more.

CHILL | Car Free Day hits Commercial Drive this Sunday. Expect live music, spoken-word performances, dancing, street hockey, more live music, bike and skateboard demos, good food, cold drinks, a little bit of roller disco and generally happy people roaming the pavement in place of automobiles. Always good times! Start your adventure at The DL Chicken Shack and if you wander the whole 15 blocks of awesome and still want more, make your way up to Commercial Street for a Car Free Block Party and a cold drink at The Commercial Street Cafe. Meet new friends, have a few laughs and chill out. Find out more.

FRESH AIR FILM | Grab yourself some tasty summer picnic food and stake-out a spot on the grass with your best blanket because Tuesday night is movie night in Stanley Park. This week: Stand By Me. “I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?” What better way to start the summer? Find out more.