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

Scout List: Brian Eno, Hot Dates & The History Of The Universe…

IMG_5950

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. This is our carefully considered first rate list 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…

TALKS

Legend Brian Eno is in town to give a talk at the Vogue on January 10th. Details are here, but the short of it is this: “Musician, producer, ideologue, futurologist, visual artist, political activist – Brian Eno is a visionary and iconic figure within global contemporary culture; an innovative presence who has been at the forefront of creative thought for the past four decades.” Sadly, iconic futurologists don’t come cheap. You’ll be looking at $65 per ticket. Nevertheless, it’s Brian effing Eno, so probably a solid use of funds.
January 10 | Vogue Theatre (918 Granville) | $65

CBC’s Sheryl MacKay co-hosts the CBC Book Club with Douglas Coupland next week. The pair tag-team on local author William Gibson. “William Gibson is back with the third novel that began with Pattern Recognition and Spook Country. His new novel Zero History continues the absorbing and addictive relationship between journalist Hollis Henry and global marketing magnate Hubertus Bigend. The New Yorker said of Gibson “His eye for the eerie in the everyday still lends events an otherworldly sheen”.  Only way to get yourself through the door for this one is to win tickets. Find out all you need to know here.
Wednesday January 12 | 6:30pm Studio One, CBC Broadcast Centre, 700 Hamilton | Free

“The history of the universe in a nutshell, from the Big Bang to now, and on to the future.” That’s a lot of ground to cover in one hour, but I guess the collective wisdom of the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre, Department of Physics out at UBC and the Goddard SpaceFlight Centre are pretty confident that John Mather is the man to do it. Head to the Planetarium next Thursday and hear all about how we got here, how the Universe began with a Big Bang, how it could have produced an Earth where sentient beings can live, and how those beings are discovering their history. Sounds like a hot date, for sure!
Thursday, January 13 | 7pm – 8pm | H.R. MacMillan Space Centre (auditorium)

And if space stuff really gets you going, Mr. Ray Villard of the Space Telescope Science Institute (Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland) is also coming to town to discuss the big question: When Will We Find Earth II—the First Inhabited Extrasolar Planet? Don’t want to miss out on that now, do you? More details here.
January 14 | 8:15pm | Lecture Hall 2 | Woodward Instructional Resources Centre | UBC

FLICKS

Tron Legacy plays at the Rio. “Sam Flynn, the tech-savvy 27-year-old son of Kevin Flynn, looks into his father’s disappearance and finds himself pulled into the same world of fierce programs and gladiatorial games where his father has been living for 25 years. Along with Kevin’s loyal confidant, father and son embark on a life-and-death journey across a visually-stunning cyber universe that has become far more advanced.”
January 7 | 7 pm | Rio Theatre | $10

The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet’s Nest is on at the Hollywood. The Crazies plays later in the evening. $8 ain’t a bad price to pay for the big screen!
January 7 – 13 | 7:30pm and 9:40pm | Hollywood | Double features for $8!!

“Making Movies Out of Sex and Life” goes down at the Vancity Theatre and includes a flip through four short films, Dyketactics, No Nooky TV, Sync Touch and A Horse is Not a Metaphor. Beat those titles! Q&A with filmmaker Barbara Hammer to follow screening. Find out more…
Tuesday, January 11 | doors 6pm, show 7pm | Vancity Theatre | $5

The Waldorf Hotel is starting up a series of Sunday afternoon films. Grab a good, stiff drink and slip into the comfortably dim light of the Waldorf Library to catch a pay-what-you-can flick. Expect vintage Hollywood, cool documentaries, NFB shorts, and rarely-screened “art films” (gotta love the “art film”). The series kicks off with The Silent Partner this Sunday. The Biltmore did this a few years ago and it kicked ass. A nice way to spend a Sunday for sure. More info
Sunday, January 9 | 3pm | Waldorf Hotel | pay-what-you-can

EAT

The Winter Farmers Market is back on. Make your way to Nat Bailey Stadium to stock up on hearty root vegetables, fresh baked bread, dried fruit and scores of other locally grown goodies. Get the full list of who will be there here.
Saturday, January 8 | 10am – 2pm | East Parking Lot of Nat Bailey Stadium

Had enough of your ‘healthy eating’ resolution? Cool. Me too! Join us at the Baker’s Market this weekend to make up for lost time. Hook up with artisanal breads, scones, pain au chocolat, German pretzels, Parisian macaroons, madeleines, cupcakes, marshmallows, chocolates, biscotti – you name it. Take your own containers and bags. Find out more here.
Saturday, January 8 | 11am – 3pm | Creekside Community Centre (Olympic Village)

There is a raw food ‘cooking’ class slated to happen at the Mount Pleasant Community Centre over the next 6 weeks. “This program is an introduction to preparing delicious raw food meals that are vegan and gluten-free. Raw foods are nutrient and enzyme-rich. You’ll learn about seed and nut sprouting which increases the nutrient value of these foods. We’ll begin with simple recipes and work our way up to more complex dishes, eg. Stuffed Mushrooms, Zucchini Ribbons with Sundried Tomato Sauce, Hazelnut Torte, Faux Salmon Rolls, Chocolate Mousse, Creamy Broccoli Soup, Vegetable Teriyaki, Ravioli and Flax Crackers.” Tempting. More info…
Wed January 12, – Wed Feb 16 | 7:30pm – 9:30pm | $200 (all food supplies included)

ART

On Friday night the Firehall Arts Centre is holding an opening for the exhibition “Moonstruck”. The show features a series of monoprints and works on paper created by of two emerging Vancouver artists (Lori Dean Dyment and Roz MacLean) who use natural imagery to evoke delicately nuanced psychological states: nightscapes and memory. Show runs until February 26.
Friday, January 7 | 6-8pm | Firehall Lobby Gallery (280 E Cordova)

As mentioned last week, 221A Artist Run Centre brings us Pact 19: Drop, a one-night non-juried exhibition of work by artists and designers. Some people worry that non-juried shows can be a bit, um, “out there” but we’re pretty sure that, given the crowd that tends to flock around 221A, this will be a good show. “Work is submitted one day prior to the event then installed the day of. The event aims to support the production and exhibition of collaborative and transient practices as well as nurture a participatory learning environment for artists, designers, curators, critics, volunteers, and the public. Submitted work is documented and compiled into an online publication that is released for free on the organization’s website.
January 7 – January 8 | 2:00pm – 8:00pm | 221A Artist Run Centre | Free

I like the concept behind Erin McSavaney’s upcoming exhibition at the Equinox Gallery. Her work examines forgotten pieces of local towns and settlements. Lifted from the artists website: “Examining a city’s overlooked buildings, its back alleys and loading bays, darkened street-ways and abandoned factories, reveals as many truths about its citizens and spectators as it does their own actual functions and inhabitants.”
January 8 –  February 5 | Equinox Gallery (2321 Granville) | Free

Western Front have a project going on called “Past is Prologue” that invites artists, writers, archivists and historians to conduct research related to the Western Front Media Archive, a repository of over 1300 tapes, including performance documents, video art and audio recordings. Individuals then pull together a bit of an overview of their diggings for an audience. Details here.
Wednesday, January 12 | 6pm – 8pm | Western Front (303 E 8th)

Also next Wednesday, The Museum of Vancouver is throwing an opening party for their new exhibition SweaterLodge Unlatched. “SweaterLodge is an architectural installation consisting of a giant orange polarfleece sweater. It measures 26.5 meters (87 feet) cuff to cuff and is made of Polartec 200 fleece, manufactured from 3,150 recycled two-litre plastic pop bottles. The installation is a portrait of Vancouver where the veneration of nature and the construction of urban culture stand at curious odds. It is part art, part architecture and all commentary on Vancouver.” The installation, created by local ‘Art and Architecture’ firm Pechet and Robb was chosen to represent Canada at the 2006 Venice Biennale of Architecture and being remounted for the first time in Canada at the Museum of Vancouver. Cash bar! The exhibit continues until May, so if you can’t make it down this week, don’t worry, you have time to behold the giant orange polarfleece.  More info.
Wednesday, January 12 | 7pm | MOV |  $15

——————————————————————————————–

late-may-2009-169Michelle 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.

——————————————————————————————–

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.