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

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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…

WINE | Fewer than 200 people have passed The Master Sommelier exam. Ever. That’s a tough test. So tough that the journey of four wine experts preparing themselves for the exam makes killer fodder for an interesting documentary. From Eater.com: “The film documents these four men as they train for and eventually take the exam; it was shot in six countries including the US, Germany, France, and Italy. The exam is an incredibly intense, multi-step process that tests sommeliers on pretty much everything that there is to know about wine.” Catch Jason Wise’s full length documentary feature “Somm” at The Rio Theatre twice this week. On Tuesday night there will be a pre-movie wine tasting and an expert wine panel following the film. A second screening has been added on Thursday night, also with a pre-movie wine tasting.
Tues & Thur, June 11 & 13 | 7pm | Rio Theatre | 1660 West Broadway | $12/$25 for tasting | DETAILS

PECHA KUCHA | Pecha Kucha Night Vol.28 goes down this week. As per usual, the gathering of local creatives will be presenting 20 images for 20 seconds each on what inspires/drive/tickles them. PKN remains one of the greatest mind-expanding, culturally significant ways to spend your time in Vancouver. For this edition, participants include a fascinating group of Vancouverites who are doing amazing things around the world. The speaker line up has great range of Vancouverites who have plenty of insight to share (architect Jeff Doble of Perkin+Will; ethical mining advocate Gen Hume; Shawna Olsten of Native Shoes; Ish Jhaj of Shooting for Hope; among others). Grab a seat and hear about where they drew/draw their inspiration from and what motivated them to take their vision(s) global.
Thursday, June 13 | Doors 6:30 | Vogue Theatre (918 Granville St) | $15 | DETAILS

CITY | Appropriately timed to fall on the eve of city-wide car free celebrations, SFU presents the free public lecture: How to Increase Cycling and Walking—Lessons from Cities Across the Globe. Speaker John Pucher (professor at Rutgers University) is in town to discuss ways in which cycling and walking can become successfully integrated modes of transportation in a city when they’re supported by local government. As a specialist in travel behaviour in cities, transportation economics and government policies surrounding transportation systems, Pucher will likely have a few valuable suggestions for us. Get in on the talk by reserving a seat at SFU here (admission is free, but reservations are required). If you don’t snag a seat or can’t make it out, this lecture will also be webcast live. Comment and tweet your questions during the webcast using hashtag #SFUcycle.
Friday, June 14 | 7 pm | SFU’s Vancouver campus (515 W Hastings St) | Free | DETAILS

PARK THE CAR | Sunday is Car Free Day! That’s four street festivals, four neighbourhoods and four tons of fun. Experience your neighbourhood without cars, exhaust, traffic or grumpy drivers. Expect live music, spoken-word performances, dancing, hockey, more live music, bike and skateboard demos, good food, locally made trinkets and generally happy people. Who doesn’t love Car Free Day, seriously? More information over here, but the short version is as follows:

COMMERCIAL | Sun | Venables to North Grandview | 12pm-7pm | DETAILS
MAIN STREET | Sun | between Broadway & 30th | 12pm-7pm | DETAILS
WEST END | Sun | Denman from Robson to Davie | 12pm-6pm | DETAILS

Note that Kits is doing something different. Instead of closing off a major street (they’ve been doing enough of that lately), people are hosting individual block parties with their neighbours on both Saturday and Sunday. Click here for the Google Map of parties  DETAILS

DRAW DOWN | Get your pencils ready because this weekend is Vancouver Draw Down. This Saturday, from Marpole straight down to Crab Park and Dunbar clear across to East Van, over 35 free hands-on drawing workshops are set to pop-up at community centres, galleries, museums and parks around the city. It will be difficult to avoid all the doodling, so why not join in? Draw Down isn’t about getting it perfect, this is an event aimed at reminding us of how much fun can be had with a blank piece of paper and a crayon, pencil, pen, piece of chalk or paintbrush. Hit the Contemporary Art Gallery for a free workshop with artist-in-residence Raymond Boisjoly, use some sumi-ink to draw in response to recorded bird calls at Hastings Community Centre, get busy at the Mount Pleasant comic jam, et cetera. There is a lot going on!
Saturday, June 15 | Various times and locations | Free | DETAILS

HOTEL TAKEOVER | If you’ve been too suspicious to cross the lonely threshold under the plastic sign the reads “Your Waldorf Is Back” at the eerily quiet Waldorf Hotel on Hastings but have been missing the vibe that came with its multi-room exhibitions, live music and super-charged atmosphere, our friends over at Color Magazine have arranged for a one night fix this weekend. Hotel Takeover will see 24 rooms at downtown’s Burrard Hotel (across from St. Pauls on Burrard) transformed by local artists, live music by Humans, a Jamcouver skateboard ramp and a garage party with bands and DJs. And just for that authentic Waldorf feel, Nuba will be there, too, as will food trucks and DJs Cherchez La Femme and My!Gay!Husband! Yup, it’s as close to time-travel as you’re likely to get on a Saturday night, so jump in.
Saturday, June 15 | 6pm-1am | Burrard Hotel (1100 Burrard St) | $22 | DETAILS

ART | Artist-run centre The Western Front turns 40 this year. As a promoter of interdisciplinary art with an emphasis on media art and new music, the celebratory open house planned for this weekend is guaranteed to be unusual. Expect interactive music installations, film screenings, costumes, a ‘talking periodical’, food, games, activities for kids, and more. Turning 40 is no small achievement for a non-profit arts institution. Our heartiest of sincere congratulations!
Sunday, June 16 | Western Front (303 E 8th Ave) | Free | DETAILS

GET OUTSIDE  | Pack up and head for a campground near a lake because it’s BC’s Family Fishing Weekend. Score a free three-day fishing licence compliments of the Provincial Government and kick back to enjoy a quiet afternoon of fishing without forking over the dough (or getting in trouble for not…).
June 14-16 | lakes and non-tidal streams everywhere in BC | Free | DETAILS

MEAT FEST |  Brewery & The Beast is giving local foodies and beer lovers serious pleasure palpitations, and for good reason. Aside from helping to benefit the BC Hospitality Foundation (an awesome group that supports people in the restaurant industry during times of need), Brewery & The Beast is all about allowing our top toques the opportunity to express their love of high quality, hormone and antibiotic-free, ethically raised meats sourced from farms around Vancouver Island, the Lower Mainland, the Fraser Valley, and Northern Alberta. That means sausages, smoked meats, cured meats, barbecued meats, whole lamb and pig roasts, and much more. It’s a meatery, a meat-in, a meatfest, a meatasborg, a meat heaven — the kind of one day feast that discerning carnivores would fast for, complete with live music and good beer. This is a 19+ event. Tickets are only available in advance (score yours here right now). We can’t stress this enough: there won’t be any tickets for sale at the door. You must purchase your tickets in advance.
Sunday, June 16 | 1-4pm | Concord Pacific Lot (88 Pacific Boulevard) | $79 | DETAILS

EAT LOCAL | As always, make sure you grab locally grown produce from good people at your neighbourhood farmer’s market. With Oak Street and Kerrisdale Markets starting up this week, there are lots of locations to choose from. Good stuff at those markets. This week look for local garlic scapes, snap peas, Pure Bread, and (hooray!) strawberries.

Trout Lake Farmers Market | Saturday | 9am-2pm | Trout Lake | Free
Kitsilano Farmers Market | Sunday | 10am – 2pm | 2690 Larch @ 10th | Free
West End Farmers Market | Saturday | 9am-2pm | 1100 Block Comox | Free
Thornton Park | Wednesday | 3pm – 7pm | Main Street Station at Terminal | Free
Dundarave (West Van) Saturday | 9am – 2pm | Between 24 & 25 on Marine
UBC Farm Market | Saturday | 9-1 | UBC Farm
Kerrisdale | Saturday 10am-2pm | East Boulevard between 37th & 41st Ave, near Kerrisdale Arena | Free
Oak Street | Wednesday | 3-7pm | Oak @ 49th (Unitarian Church) | Free

Check the Globe & Mail every Thursday for our Special Weekend Edition of the Scout List

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late-may-2009-169Michelle 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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