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SCOUT LIST: The 10 Things That You Should Absolutely Do Between Now And Next Week

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…

NELSON | If you live in or around the Gastown area you might want to drop in to Nelson The Seagull and put your name on the list for their Yoga, Eat, Repeat event lickety-split. The good folks at the Nelson The Seagull are starting this community dinner and yoga night this week and our guess is that it will fill up fast. Candle-light yoga followed by soup and sandwich for only $25?  Pretty solid Wednesday night if you as us.
Wednesday, February 15 | 6pm | Nelson The Seagull | $25

MUSH REPRIEVE | Had just about enough of the saccharine and overly dramatic sentiment that drips from every possible corner of the universe around Valentine’s Day? You’re not alone. Solution: comic relief. Say Wha?! (Readings of Deliciously Rotten Writing) goes down Wednesday night and being that the theme is Love and Romance, we think this will be a thoroughly entertaining evening to relieve all the over-the-top gushy romantic stuff that’s been making the rounds. If you’re not familiar, Say Wha?! is a comedy show wherein performers put their spin on some of the most cringe-worthy, embarrassing and painfully earnest writing ever put in print. Perfect.
Wednesday, February 15 | 8pm show | Cottage Bistro – 4470 Main | $5-10 at the door | Details 

SKATE ART | The Emily Carr University “Ill’n” Illustration Club is holding the ever-so-popular Deck Show at the Fall Gallery right now and the closing auction goes down this week. Over 100 skateboard decks have been used as canvasses for original art that will blow you away. From serene and ethereal to abstract and in-your-face – there’s a deck for every style. Get in to take a look or place a bid before they’re all snatched up. Early bird bids will be accepted as early as Monday, February 13. The final auction will take place on Thursday.
Thursday, February 16 | 7pm | The Fall Gallery (644 Seymour) | Details 

OLD SCHOOL | If you own or use a film camera and feel passionate about film photography, get yourself to the Cineworks’ Annex studio at the foot of Main Street this weekend. VNB is a small gig run by two very talented and enthusiastic photographers who want to encourage a revival of old school film photography in Vancouver. Music sounds better on vinyl, right? Well, photos have more soul when they’re film. So dust off the old manual and get going. VNB offers loads of short and informative workshops and you won’t find a more supportive team of teachers to help you navigate the process of getting (re)acquainted with a darkroom. Curious? Head down to their free open house (and studio shoot) on Friday evening to check it all out.
Friday February 17 | 6pm-9pm | Cineworks’ Annex, Railtown (235 Alexander @Main) | Details

HOLA | It’s New Spanish Cinema Week at Vancity Theatre. There will be a selection of award winning Spanish comedies, documentaries, drama (and a horror classic). There’s nothing like a little Spanish warmth to cheer up a somewhat dreary February. Spanish Cinema Week runs until the 16th. Have a look at the full line-up of movies here. From the 17th to the 22nd, you can catch The Oscar Shorts: Animation (Academy Award-nominated short films in the categories of Best Live Action Short, Best Animated Short, and Best Documentary Short). Get details on everything here.

BILLTASTIC | Hands down the most anticipated event of my week has got to be the Bill You Murray Me show. An art exhibition dedicated to Bill Murray. So great! Earlier this month the organizers of Bill You Murray Me put the word out that they were looking for original work of all sorts that honours “…this peculiar, hilarious and often sad man…From Caddyshack to Broken Flowers…Classics such as Ghostbusters, Lost in Translation or every Wes Anderson film.” They wanted paintings, drawings, knitting…anything. The response was so great that they had to push the exhibition date a little later in order to score a bigger space. Everything is sorted now and the show goes down this coming Saturday night. Guests are expected to arrive wearing red toques and housecoats and be accessorize with pipe and beard. There will be cheap drinks, great music and tons of presumably excellent art. Stoked.
Saturday, February 18 | 7pm-2am | The Fall Gallery is located at 644 Seymour | Details

WINGING IT | You have to respect the Stanley Park Ecology Society for their dedication in educating us city slickers on the importance of nature in an urban setting. This weekend they throw down with a workshop and a walk that will teach you how to identify birds of prey. Owls, hawks, eagles – the whole lot. It couldn’t hurt to know this sort of thing and it’ll be an two hours full of fascinating information that you’ll be better off for filling your noggin with.
Saturday, February 18 | 1:30-3:30 pm | Lost Lagoon Nature House | Admission by donation | 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 the Crawl’s most exciting and established artist’s studio spaces. A limited number of spots are available. This month, get to know Eri Ishii. Eri will take participants through her studio, work and creative processes on Sunday, February 19. Pre-registration required. Contact jeffrey[at]eastsideculturecrawl.com
Sunday, February 19 | 1–2pm | 150 MacLean Drive, Vancouver | $5 | Details 

ARTNESS | Lights Out! Canadian Painting from the 1960s opens at the VAG this week. Looks like it’s going to be a great show. “The 1960s was a decade of enormous political and cultural tumult throughout the world. This was certainly true of Canada and Canadian art. As the country celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1967, modernist painting was strong in all regions of the country, but debates between the merits of figuration and abstraction were abundant. The important centres of activity, such as Halifax, Montreal, Toronto, London, Regina and Vancouver, each contributed to the national dialogue in a distinct fashion.Canadian painting during the sixties was diverse and ranged from the colourfield works of Jack Bush and bold optical images of Claude Tousignant, to the haunting figurative works of Jack Chambers and Jean-Paul Lemieux, to name only a few. Lights Out! Canadian Painting from the 1960s reflects the diversity and strength of this exceptional era.”
February 18 – April 29 | Vancouver Art Gallery | $17.50 | Details 

BAIE LEKKER GOOD | South African band Die Antwoord plays The Commodore on the 19th. Yeah, we know tickets are sold out, but there are some floating around Craigslist. This will be a show to remember, so do what you can to manifest this particular destiny. Get in touch with your zef side!
February 19 | Commodore Ballroom | Try Craigslist

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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.

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  1. One other thing: The annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science is at the Convention Centre this week/weekend. This is an absolutely huge meeting—about 8000 attendees. As part of the meeting, there are open-to-the-public “Family Science Days” Saturday and Sunday with demonstrations and other activities. Details are here: http://www.aaas.org/meetings/2012/program/fsd/

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