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…

CULTURE | This Tuesday is a great night to head to the Vancouver Art Gallery. Not only is admission by donation after 5pm, but it’s also high time you checked out local icon Ian Wallace’s show, At the Intersection of Painting and Photography. It’s on the walls of the VAG until February 24, 2013, but this Tuesday you can sit in on a lecture with artists Tim Lee and Clint Burnham that will explore the impact of Wallace’s work on the larger contemporary art scene in Vancouver and beyond.
Tuesday, December 4 | 7pm | Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby St) | By donation | DETAILS

DINE | Here’s a question that you probably don’t ask yourself very often: what wines pair best with diner fare? What, for example, should you be pouring to best compliment fried chicken and mash, meatloaf and beans, or a plate of fries and gravy? For answers to these questions (and many more) you should join the engaging (and exceedingly handsome) Mick Luckhurst of Oliver’s Road 13 Winery at Save-On-Meats for The Farmer And The Pig dinner this Wednesday night. Grab a booth or a seat at the counter and dig in to a three-course diner supper paired with Road 13 wines. Bonus: Mick is bringing an exclusive barrel sample from an upcoming release.
Wednesday, December 5 | 8pm | Save On Meats (43 W Hastings) | $25 | DETAILS

WRITE | If there’s one month of the year that the Regional Assembly of Text Letter Writing Club is a must – it’s got to be this one. If you’ve never heard of it before, the wonderful Main St. store sports a brilliant collection of books, paper, cards, stamps, chalkboards, boxes, and yes, even clothing, and on the first Thursday of every month they host a Letter Writing Club. It’s free, open to everyone, and supplies are provided. So don’t leave Christmas Cards until the last minute. Get ‘em done and in the mail! The move is highly recommended by Santa.
Thursday, December 6 | 7:30 pm | Regional Assembly of Text | Free | DETAILS

GET UP | Friday is Creative Mornings, the monthly AM gathering for creative types in the Woodward’s W2 Media Cafe. Each event includes a 20 minute lecture, followed by a 20 minute group discussion. It begins at 8:30am and ends with everyone splitting for their respective offices at 10am. This weeks speaker, Mayor Gregor Robertson, should be a doozy. Sign-up starts today (Monday) and tickets go FAST.  If you get to the Creative Mornings website and tickets are already showing as sold out, put yourself on the wait list. A lot of wait listers and stand by-ers get in. Also, the good folks at CM have slipped us a pair of tickets to give away later this week, so stay tuned.
Friday December 7 | 8:30-10am | W2 Media Cafe (#250-111 W Hastings) | Free | DETAILS 

GOT CRAFT | It’s closing in on Christmas and you never know who is watching, so keep things nice and avoid four letter words (like MALL). One way to skip the big box route and still get your holiday shopping done is to head to Got Craft at The Croatian Cultural Centre on Commercial Drive this weekend. Check out super cool handmade wares of over 75 indie artists and pick up some one of a kind gifts like lemon-infused honey from Mellifera Bees; crystal pendants from Camp & Quarry; cards, calendars and posters from The Beautiful Project; and poutine making kits from MakeCheese. This event is a Scout favourite. Pro tip: be one of the first 45 people through the door and score a free swag bag of goodies, which include handmade items from vendors at the show. Have a sneak peek here.
Sat, Dec. 8 & Sun, Dec. 9 | 10am-5pm | Croatian Cultural Centre (3250 Commercial Dr) | $3 | DETAILS

TOQUE | Not one, but two A-list craft fairs in one weekend! I guess it’s not surprising, this being craft fair season after all. You can hardly pass a community hall or school gym without stumbling across one.  But not all craft fairs are created equal. Right near the very top of the mountain of winter craft fairs is Toque at the Western Front. Not only can you expect to find work by fine Vancouver artists and designers like Contexure Design, superstar handbag designer Erin Templeton, sublimely gifted potter Gailan Ngan, Henderson Dry Goods, Hendrik Lou, and truly beautiful books from booksellers Simply Read, but you can also pick up one of the annually commissioned limited edition artist-designed tea towels (this year the tea towel is designed by Sylvain Sailly), stock up on a range of fine Western Front publications that will impress your friends and hang out at the adorable moveable community art space known as Tin Can Studio. Quietly one of the best craft fairs on the scene. Skip over to the Toque tumbler for examples of what you might see.
Fri, Dec 7 & Sat, Dec 8 | 6-10pm Fri, 11am-4pm Sat | Lux Hall, Western Front (303 E. 8th) | DETAILS

CHEER | The Festival of Lights at VanDusen Botanical Gardens gets underway this Friday. Along with Tchaikovsky, Bing Crosby and repeated viewings of It’s A Wonderful Life, nothing gets us more in the mood for Christmas than walking – well-scarved – around the magically transformed gardens of VanDusen with friends and family. Freshly made waffles and apple cider are tasty convincers.
Fri, Dec 7 | 4:30pm – 9pm | VanDusen Botanical Garden (5251 Oak St.) | $14.25 (kids  $7.50) | DETAILS

POP-UP | The word ‘Pop-up’ is getting a lot of use these days. Pop-up shops, restaurants, galleries – they’re everywhere. But pop-up tattoo parlour? That’s a new one, and worth checking out this Saturday afternoon at the MOV. Expect to see Chad Woodley of Sanitary Electric Tattoo working at an inking station, a cash bar (yay), and a “goldification-station” where, as the MOV explains, you are invited to “bring your toys and gifts, and add a touch of gold! Think of it as a gold tattoo for your stocking stuffers.” Trust The Museum of Vancouver to put a different spin on things. Coolest museum in Canada? We think so.
Sat, Dec 8 | Noon – 5pm | Museum of Vancouver (1100 Chestnut St) | Free with admission ($12) | DETAILS

EAT LOCAL | The Farmers Market takes place Saturday. With only one per week during the winter months, it’s really important that you hit the Nat Bailey parking lot to load up on all the locally produced goodies that will keep you healthy and happy during these cold and wet winter months. Mmmm, expect fresh bread, dried fruits, preserves, cheeses, and much, much more.
Sat, Dec8 | 10am – 2pm | East Parking Lot of Nat Bailey Stadium (30th and Ontario St.) | DETAILS

NATURE | Put on your warmest hat, this Sunday is a good time to go to Stanley Park for fresh air and a walk. Grab a hot chocolate, do a lap around Lost Lagoon, and then stop in at the Stanley Park Nature House where a representative from the The Stanley Park Ecology Society will give an informative and fascinating talk about the history and customs of midwinter festivals in time for Winter Solstice. Get acquainted with the significance of the plants (holly, mistletoe, chestnuts, evergreens) that we associate with holidays and discover which ones grow in the park.
December 9 | 1:30pm – 3:30pm | Stanley Park Nature House (foot of Aberni St.) | $10 | DETAILS

FILM | There’s an old Jesuit saying that says: “Give me a child until he is seven and I will give you the man“.  In 1964, Canadian documentary film director Paul Almond decided to take a close look at that claim. Commissioned by Granada Television in the UK, Almond interviewed fourteen seven year old children from various socio-economic backgrounds, asking them a range of questions with the intention of revisiting them every seven years to see where they stood, the film was called 7 Up. Director Michael Apted took over the project beginning with the second film, 7 Plus Seven and has seen it through to it’s latest instalment: 56 Up, which is showing at the Vancity Theatre this weekend. The Up series is a fascinating look in to the question of whether or not our life path is set from birth depending on the class we are born in to. This is Reality TV but on an impressive scale. “An inspired, almost noble use of the film medium… The Up series is on my list of the ten greatest films of all time.” — Roger Ebert
Sunday, December 9 | 3pm | Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour St.) | $11 | DETAILS

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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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