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…

Pop-Up | Chef Owen Lightly of Butter on the Endive presents a series of pop-up dinners at Le Marché St. George this week ( 3 consecutive 5-course dinners and one casual Sunday brunch in the beautiful Marche space). For each of the dinners, Owen will be collaborating with another local chef. All (excluding the Sunday brunch) are $65 and require a ticket, which can be pre-purchased by pay pal. Alcohol is BYOB for each event. Get all the details here.
May 3-6 | 5:30 and 8:30pm seatings | $65 | Details

Learn | Fusion Kitchen is a start-up social enterprise that helps recent immigrant women develop their transferable skills, work experience, and self-confidence to gain employment in the Canadian workforce. Even though many of the women that come to Canada are well educated and have years of professional experience, it is often difficult for them to find a good job that makes use of their skill sets. Fusion Kitchen got the idea to tap in to some of this skill to offer Vancouverites unique cooking classes with a seriously authentic vibe. Each 3-hour class features a tutorial and hands-on cooking of “mom’s cooking” dishes. “When you enter the kitchen and learn to cook with our teachers, you are taught about the ingredients used, the secrets to making the perfect dish, and details about the culture.  We provide a community where knowledge, skills, and culture are exchanged.” This week you can drop in to learn how to cook Pakistani food (think Mint and Lentil Kebabs and Strawberry Lassi!).
May 4th | 6-9pm | Woodlands Smokehouse (485 Commercial) | $65 | Details

Grow | Do you love the idea of eating fresh, home-grown food but a touch baffled as to how to get things rolling with the space you have? The World In A Garden is hosting a small-space gardening class with Bonita Magee of FarmFolk CityFolk. Bonita will lead workshop participants through the varied practical methods of small-space gardening. Take away your very own starter plants and the skills to grow food at home.
Thursday, May 3 | 6-7 pm | The World In a Garden (W. 57th and East Blvd.) | $15 | Details

Create | There’s an opening at the Gam Gallery this weekend. Julia Kreutz’ No Man is an Island is a series of mixed media pieces using simplistic, collaged images with drawn and inked additions. In addition to showing her works, Kreutz will host a drop-in collage workshop for anyone interested in getting a little creative on a Saturday afternoon.
Opening Reception Friday May 4th | 8-11pm | Gam Gallery | Free
Open House\Workshop Saturday May 5th | 1-5pm | free/materials provided

Portraits Of Cool | Smash has a show of portraits by local lecturer (Emily Carr) and photographer Art Perry right now. The show boasts over 30 ‘portraits of cool’ taken by Art Perry over the past 40 years. “His images are as honest as his subjects. Never a studio photographer Perry has taken these portraits over the past forty years with a handheld camera and greyhound-fast film in hotel rooms, backstage, backyards, graveyards, street corners, cafes and studios. Always the intimacy and spontaneity of the moment are revealed in a naked truth. This is the history of hip.” Perry will be at the Gallery on Friday night to talk about his work.
Friday, May 4 | 8pm | Smash Gallery | 580 Clark Dr | Free

Feast | Spot Prawns are coming to the docks of Granville Island this weekend! The season begins on Saturday with the 5th Annual Spot Prawn Festival at False Creek’s Fisherman’s Wharf (just west of Granville Island on the south side of False Creek). The event, founded by the Chefs’ Table Society of BC, will include a huge spot prawn boil, accompanied by sides, sauces and Terra Breads’ baked goods, wine, and beer tent, featuring pours from Mogiana Coffee, R&B Brewing, and Ganton & Larsen Prospect Winery. Good times. Scout editor Andrew Morrison will be on the Organic Ocean with Cpt. Steve Johansen that morning fishing for the year’s first catch. Listen for the airhorn announcing the boat’s arrival at around noon and rush down to the dock to get your fresh prawns! Details here.
Saturday, May 5 | 11am-3pm | False Creek Fishermen’s Wharf | $12

Cultivate | Down in The Flats you can hook up with urban beekeeper Russel Godwin of Urban Sweet Honey to learn the process of getting an apiary started in your own backyard. Russel will walk you through where to obtain supplies, how to care for honey bees and how to gather and make your own honey. Russel will also discuss the health benefits of local raw honey vs. pasteurized honey. Solid Saturday activity!
Saturday, May 5 | 12pm to 2pm | KJM Country Gardens (straight down Blenheim past 55th) | $25 | Details

Gig | There’s a groovy line-up hitting the stage at The Biltmore on Friday night. Headwater is playing with guests C.R. Avery & The Madison 22 Review, plus The River and The Road. That’s a lot of cool for $15.
Friday May 4 | 8pm | Biltmore | $15 | Details 

Splurge | Got Craft? You should. Because “mall is a four letter word” and there is no reason that you need to visit one with Got Craft? on the scene. Make your way over to Commercial Drive on Sunday to check out the supercool handmade wares of over 50 indie artists. This event is a Scout favourite, definitely one of the best craft shows we have. Score a free swag bag of goodies, which include handmade items from vendors at the show. | Details
Got Craft? | Sunday, May 6 | 10am – 5pm | Royal Canadian Legion (2205 Commercial Drive) | $3

Grad Show | This weekend is the annual Degree Exhibition at Emily Carr.  I go to this show every year and it blows me away every time. Wander the galleries, hallways, foyers and classrooms of the campus to take in the work of the 369 graduating students.  Students exhibiting their work have come through ECUAD in disciplines of animation, ceramics, communication design, drawing, digital and interactive arts, film/video/integrated media, illustration, industrial design, interactive design, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. See you there!
Opening Reception | Saturday May 5 | 5-10pm | Emily Carr University of Art + Design? (Granville Island)
Degree Exhibition | May 6-20 | 10am-6pm? | Emily Carr University of Art + Design? (1400 Johnston, Granville Island)

Plan | It’s Mothers Day next week — Sunday, May 13th. Figure out your reservations now! There are oodles of brunches to choose from but don’t sit on it too long. And bring flowers. Moms like flowers.

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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 shops and streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy, and uncooperative camera.

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Local emerging artist Alex Heilbron is having a show at Shudder Gallery tomorrow night and you should go. This will be the 24 year old’s first solo show in her own hometown. Alex’s work “speaks to the relationships between contemporary paintings and the dichotomy of pop culture and pop art,” says the gallery’s assistant coordinator, Sharona Franklin. ”Bright, off putting textures of paint and playful comic-style lines along with her use of negative space in a cut-out composition create a type of narrative referencing 70’s style cartoons and modernist paintings.” Check it out.

HAPHY opens Thursday, April 19 at 7pm and runs until May 5 | 433 Columbia | Thu – Sat, 12:30 – 5:30

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Honour Bound details the many cool things that we feel honour bound to check out because they either represent Vancouver exceptionally well or are inherently super awesome in one way or another

photo: Jason Lang

Andy Dixon is a local artist and musician. He will be taking the stage at Pecha Kucha Night this April 26th to talk about his work and what inspires it. Since not every Scout reader could score tickets in time (oh, wait), we’ve asked him 60 questions in an advance effort to get to know him better…

Three things about the Fraser & King Ed area that make you want to live there: 1) Walking distance to Le Marche St. George. 2) Affordable rent. 3) Dosas everywhere.

Name the thing that you eat that is bad for you that you will never stop eating? Sour Patch Kids.

Default drink/cocktail of choice? Red wine.

The Vancouverite that you admire most and why? My friend, Matt Smith. Why? He least possesses the character trait I describe in my answer to question #30.

Best Vancouver place to be inspired by emerging artistic talent: The Waldorf. You’ve got the Black & Yellow gallery upstairs, local DJs in the Tiki Bar and local performers down in the Cabaret…and, of course, my own studio across the hall from the Black & Yellow gallery. You should see me drink a bottle of red wine in there. Serious talent.

Last art show that really blew you away: No painting has ever effected me quite like seeing Twombly’s The Italians at the MoMA.

The historical personalities, both good and bad, that fascinate you the most? David Koresh & Michelangelo (the Ninja Turtle)

What trend have you followed that you now regret? The early 90s trend of gigantic pants, tight ringer t-shirts and obnoxious wallet chains was pretty embarrassing.

The dumbest thing that you’ve ever done to your hair? For a brief time in the mid 90s I had a shaved head save for my bangs which were bleached white and braided.

What are the three things you’d like to change about Vancouver? 1) If it could have the climate of LA 2) the housing prices of the Maritimes 3) if we didn’t win the award for the worst dressed city.

Favourite breakfast? Fried eggs and toast made by my wife.

Your go to, no-frills place for dinner? Fassil, an Ethiopian joint on Broadway and Fraser.

If you could board a plane this afternoon, where would it be taking you? It’s a particularly grey day here in Vancouver as I type this so I’d choose somewhere warm. Italy, maybe.

The strangest place you’ve ever been to? In Pittsburgh, my old punk band needed a place to crash after the show (a usual occurrence) and ended up in this horror movie style situation with the psychotic bartender of the club who kept stealing our things and then trying to sell them back to us. He also had an attic room with an empty baby crib in it with no sign of a baby or a partner. The guy was so scary that some of us chose to sleep in the creepy abandoned townhouse next door, which had intentionally-torn family photos, children’s shoes, and filth.

The three books that you read that made an impact on you in your formative years? A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius by David Eggers, The Tao of Pooh by Benjamin Hoff, Calvin & Hobbs.

What is the best way to get to know a neighbourhood? Visit its local liquor store.

Where was the last place you traveled to for work or pleasure? In November I went to Jamaica with my family for my father’s wedding.

What is your biggest phobia? Heights. Or flying.

Where did you go to school? I’ve never had any post-secondary education. ‘Self taught’ or ‘outsider’ is the polite way to phrase it.

The cliché that you overuse? …in the eye of the beholder

The strangest talent that you possess? I can answer 60 questions in 2 days.

Shoe of choice? Brown leather oxfords.

The different career path that you could have gone on? Psychologist? Lawyer? Stylist? Tailor?

Your ancestry? Miscellaneous white Canadian. Mutt.

Your three favourite films? 8 1/2, The Royal Tenenbaums, Mulholland Drive

Favourite pizza? Veggie.

Under what circumstances would you join the army? If Mulan Kundera was my drill sergeant.

Your most regrettable purchase ever? My iPhone because it’s turned me into a complete fool.

Your major character flaw? I’m ridiculously forgetful and unorganized.

The character flaw in others that you can’t abide? It’s hard to describe but I have an answer for this. It’s a kind of introspective blindness. Someone’s inability to abstract oneself, objectively see oneself, and change one’s behavior based on what one sees.

How do you know when you can trust someone? If I give you a ride somewhere and you manually lock your door when exiting the car.

What was the luckiest moment in your life? When my future wife moved into the apartment next to mine.

What was the unluckiest moment in your life? When my future wife moved into the apartment next to mine with her boyfriend.

What are you the most proud of? My ability to live forever (so far).

What are you the least proud of? My spelling.

Favourite way to get your hands dirty? Painting.

What is the best thing about your work? I get to spend my time making it.

What is the worst thing about your work? Everything else.

The relatively normal piece of clothing that you believe you’d look the most ridiculous in? A leather motorcycle jacket.

The talent that you wish you possessed? Acting and/or singing.

What are you listening to as you answer these questions? A$AP Rocky .

What musical instrument do you secretly long to play? The Koto.

What sport did you give up and why? Skateboarding. Despite it being a necessary interest of mine to fit the mold of the alternative teenager, I sucked at it.

What is the game that you’re best at? The card game, Hearts. It’s the only thing I’ve ever beat both of my older brothers and my father at.

What is the one animal that scares you the most? Crow.

If you had a motto, what would it be? It’s happening and it’s good. It’s good because it’s happening.

Your favourite word? Brazen

Your least favourite word? Esoteric

Your favourite curse word? Fuck.

Three things of no monetary value that you own and will keep dearly until you die? My late mom’s keychain. An invitation to my wedding. A flyer for my first art show.

The strangest road you’ve ever travelled? The highway in Poland which was completely rural and desolate except for the stands selling garden gnomes every mile, and a prostitute every half-mile.

Your first memory? Screaming for my parents to move a crocheted hanging owl ornament away from my line of sight while I was in bed.

The first album that made you love music? Appetite for Destruction by Guns N’ Roses

The song that you could listen to on repeat for an hour? All of Harmony in Ultraviolet by Tim Hecker

The one place that you have the least interest in ever visiting? The Arctic Circle

The first three things that you do every morning? Make coffee. Turn on rap music. Check email.

Describe your favourite photograph: Something with nudity in it as long as it’s not me.

When you can’t sleep: I avoid the temptation to work on something (which will only keep me up even later). Instead I put on Tim Hecker and read a book.

What is beauty? Existence

OTHER INTERESTING VANCOUVERITES

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…

FILM | Bob Barrett’s Snapshot, The Art of Photography is playing at the Vancity Theatre on Tuesday night. It’s a series of awesome documentaries profiling some of Canada’s most accomplished photographers. The three episodes from the first two series of the show will be screening Tuesday with a focus on local photographers Greg Girard, Lincoln Clarkes and Fred Herzog. Head to Vancity for a unique look at each artists work, life and creative process.
Tuesday, April 10 | 6:30pm | Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour) | Details

EAT WELL | Chefs Cameron Smith & Dana Ewart of Penticton’s awesome Joy Road Catering are in town and if you act fast you might still be able to snag a ticket to their Cuisine du Terroir dinner at Edible Canada on Granville Island.
Tuesday, April 10 | Edible at The Market (Granville Island) | $85 | Details

TOLLS? | Interested in how Vancouver can approach transportation issues? Should we consider tolling? Get in on a Public Lecture called Pricing Our Roads: What Can Metro Vancouver Learn from Seattle? Seattle has recently introduced tolls on an existing bridge and they are beginning to learn something about how reality compares with models and research. Matthew Kitchen, a policy analyst on the Puget Sound Regional Council, will be on hand to discuss the research, experiments, and real-life examples of how everything has played-put for Seattle. He’ll tell us a little about what they’re learning now and guess at what the implications may be for the future. A panel of Vancouverites will also discuss what tolling could mean for Vancouver.
Wednesday, April 11 | 7pm | SFU Downtown (515 W. Hastings) $10

PITCH IN | Don’t wait until Earth Day (April 22) to get your hands dirty in doing the planet a favour. Start small by pitching in at the spring clean-up of Renfrew Ravine Park this Friday. It’s a really lovely place and everyone is welcome to join in the task of cleaning up the bits and pieces left behind by winter. Show up with work gloves and weeding tools if you have them. Wear gumboots and dress for the weather.
Friday, April 13 | 9am-12pm | Meet at Nootka St and Boyd Diversion (near 22nd and Renfrew St

POP-UP | Swallow Tail Supper Club is holding a pop up Tiki-themed gig at a secret location this Friday. Not only will Chef Robin be plating tropical canapes and tasting plates, but gifted bartender Hailey Pasemko is rumoured to be making her way down from Whistler to mix Tiki Bar cocktails as well. Super twin bonuses: Sea Monstr Sushi will be there creating some classic Tiki rolls and Butter on the Endive chef Owen Lightly will be there too. This just sounds plain amazeballs. Bad news: the evening is currently sold out. Good news? More tickets to be released this week. Email info@swallowtail.ca to get on the list.
Friday, April 13 | 7pm | Secret Location | tasting plates for $5 | Admission is $15 | Details

CRAWL | Looking to get a little more intimate with the eastside arts scene? On the third Sunday of each month, the Eastside Culture Crawl Society is hosting a tour of one of their most exciting and established artist’s studio spaces. A limited number of spots are available. This month, get to know Nicola Tibbetts. Nicola will take participants through her studio, work and creative processes on Sunday, April 15. Pre-registration required. Contact jeffrey [at] eastsideculturecrawl.com
Sunday, April 15 | 1–2pm | 150 MacLean Drive, Vancouver | $5 | Details 

SHOP HOP |  It’s on. The Gastown Spring Shop Hop happens this Thursday night. It’s a one-night-only event where you can cruise around Gastown’s coolest shops and check out all the new spring fashions and be treated to great deals and good grub along the way. And get this: with every purchase you’ll receive a food or drink voucher to one of your favourite nearby participating restaurants (think Boneta, Salt, Peckinpah, Pourhouse).
April 12 | 5pm–9pm | Various very cool locations | FREE to browse | Details

FROCK SWAP | Get in on the art of sharing and sustainable shopping by joining the The Frock Swap. Here’s how it works: you gather all of the clothing in your closet that you don’t wear but like. You take those treasures to the clothing drive (April 14 at 10am) and let the good folks there itemize and size your clothing in preparation for the actual Swap (April 15, 12pm). The next day you go back and you get to pick out new items equal to the number that you dropped off the day before. Cool plan. It’s like spring cleaning and thrifting all at once – without shelling out any dough. All unclaimed clothing will be donated to the Convenant House. Frock Swap motto: “What you send to closet purgatory might be heaven-sent for someone else.”
Sunday, April 15 (Clothing Drive: April 14) | Vinegar Studios (1009 E Cordova) | 12-3pm | $4 | Details 

DIG IT | Vancouver writer and thinker Lindsay Brown is leading a Habitat Forum 1976 Walk on Saturday. The Habitat Forum took place at Jericho Beach in Vancouver from May 31-June 11 way back in 1976. It was part of the largest conference the UN had ever assembled and was a platform for international delegates to discuss pressing issues of homelessness, environmental and social sustainability, women’s rights, poverty, and the growing challenges of design, planning and urbanization. It was a beautiful time and we would all do well to revisit it.
Saturday, April 14 | Arrive at: 12:45pm (walk starts 1pm) | Jericho Sailing Centre, pay-parking lot, at the payment kiosk | Suggested donation $25 | Details 

ENGAGE | There’s an Emily Carr show going on this week called Housing for Everyone. It’s an exhibition of student artwork that explores the concept of shared territory and the possibility of developing more inclusive communities. Participating students worked in cooperation with Pivot Legal Society to address homelessness and the need for supportive housing in BC. Cool stuff. Important issues. Looking forward to seeing what they’ve got to say.
Tuesday, April 10- Saturday, April 21 | Emily Carr University Library (1400 Johnston Street | Granville Island) Free

CHEAP ART | Gallery FUKAI is having an opening bash for Design24 on Friday night. “Design24 embraces the parallels between art and design/ designer and artist; paying respect to the duality of commercial design work, its artists and culture.” This show is a curatorial collaboration between Neal E. Nolan, Andrew Young and Gallery FUKAI. It’s a big show, and a cool one. 24 locals throw down with limited edition (10) silkscreened art printed on archival paper for the low price of $50 (cash purchase for the duration of the exhibit). Love this idea. Great way to support local artists and freshen-up your art collection without breaking the bank. For a full list of participating artists, check out the event page on Facebook.
Friday, April 13 | 8pm | Gallery Fukai (602 E Hastings) | Free | Details

GROW | Get moving! It’s time to get the garden sorted out. Urban farmer Chris Thoreau is headed out to UBC Farm this weekend to lead a workshop on composting. Thoreau will focus on a method of composting that creates high quality compost quickly and is aimed at helping small-scale farmers and backyard gardeners alike. Participants will discuss strategies for maintaining soil organic matter levels over time. Click here to register.
Saturday, April 14 | 1-4pm | UBC Farm Centre (6182 South Campus Rd) $35 | Materials included | Details 

CANUCKERY | Our Vancouver Canucks face-off against the Los Angeles Kings in the 1st Round of the NHL Playoffs starting this Wednesday night. Watch on the telly or streaming online. CBC has us covered for both. Coconuts go!

LOOKING AHEAD | The Tyee has launched a Master Class educational series and it sounds pretty dope. They have wrangled a solid list of diversely skilled professionals to come to the Tyee newsroom week after week to impart their knowledge to a class of Vancouverites interested in their particular area expertise. Next week Meeru Dhalwala (Vij’s and Rangoli) throws down with a class on food writing. The price tag is steep ($195) but More than Recipes: Inspired Food Writing with Meeru Dhalwala is a four house class that comes with Whole Foods catering, a home-cooked snack from Meeru and refreshments served by Tyee sommelier Justin Everett. So there. Registration is limited to 20, so get on it.
Saturday, April 21 | 1- 5pm | The Tyee’s Vancouver Newsroom | Details 

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Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended Bond 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 shops and streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy, and uncooperative camera.

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A while back we posted a snippet about a local art exhibition dedicated to all things Bill Murray. We thought it was a great idea, and so – apparently – did a lot of Vancouverites. So many people wanted to take part in the show that the organizers have had to find a bigger space and bump the opening by a week. The new date is Saturday, February 18th (7pm-2am), and the new location is The Fall Gallery (644 Seymour), which would be better suited to a larger crowd of Murray enthusiasts in any event. Guests are still expected to don red toques and housecoats and accessorize with pipes and beards. There will still be cheap drinks, too, plus great music and tons of excellent, Bill Murray-inspired art.

Honour Bound details the many cool things that we feel honour bound to check out because they either represent Vancouver exceptionally well or are inherently super awesome in one way or another.