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…

FRESH AIR FILM | Grab yourself some tasty summer picnic food and stake-out a spot on the grass with your best blanket because Tuesday night is movie night in Stanley Park. This week: The Breakfast Club. Nothin’ like a little John Hughes flashback flick to kick a summer night into full gear.
Tues, July 23 | Dusk | Stanley Park at Ceperley Meadow / 2nd Beach | DETAILS

RESTAURANT RUMBLE | The event of the summer goes down this Wednesday. The charity boxing showdown organized by the Aprons for Gloves Boxing Association is pitting Vancouver’s bussers against its barbers and its cooks against its bartenders. It happens in two parts: “Undercard Fights” go down in the afternoon (3:30-6:30pm) followed by “Main Event Fights” in the evening (7-10pm). At three 3-minute rounds, Title Fights go down fast. Boxers go glove to glove without headgear or shirts and title belts are on the line. After the fights head over to Fortune Sound Club for the official after party. This event will also be live streamed at Fortune Sound Club in Chinatown and The Bottleneck on Granville Street.
Wed, July 24 | 3:30 & 7pm | SFU Woodward | 149 W. Hastings | Various $ | DETAILS

A CURIOUS EVENING | Picture a slow summer wander through a country garden while you are fed freshly shucked oysters and plied with Champagne. Sounds pretty heavenly, huh? If you hurry you can still snag a ticket to the Curious Evening In The Garden event at KJM Country Gardens on Thursday. Oysters, champagne, and scotch will be carted through the picturesque garden centre (located by the edge of the Fraser River) by the exceedingly dapper gentlemen of Curious Oyster Catering. All you do is slurp and enjoy. Tickets include oysters and a glass of champagne or a dram of whiskey. The only catch is that you need to purchase them in advance (Curious Oyster needs to know how many delicious oysters to bring). Additional drinks available for purchase, natch.
Thur, July 25 | 6-9pm | KJM Country Gardens (7226 Blenheim St) | $34 | DETAILS

HOTEL STORIES | Raincity Chronicles sets up shop in a very special location this week. This edition of the cool-as-heck storytelling evening is themed around Hotels and your ticket to the event gets you a rare opportunity to hang out in the forgotten lounge in the sky at the Hotel Vancouver. Expect an eclectic gathering of interesting peeps poised to tell you their Hotel-related stories. Not that the stories and people alone wouldn’t be enough to constitute a rewarding evening on the town, but add in the view and the old decadence of the venue and you’ve really got yourself an amazing evening. Tickets might be hard to come by, but a craigslist search or Facebook enquiries might prove fruitful.
Fri, July 26 | 7pm | Fairmont Hotel Vancouver (900 W Georgia St) | DETAILS

SLOW DOWN | Hop on your bike for a relaxing pedal about the countryside. Slow Food Vancouver is holding its 7th annual Cycle Tour Agassiz this Saturday and its 5th annual Cycle Tour Chilliwack on Sunday (both approximately 25 km of beautiful and flat terrain). The Slow Food cycle offers riders a chance to get to know the fine folks who produce food at local farms. Bikers dismount at a variety of locations to take a guided tours, gobble up samples or ‘taste plates’ and fill their rucksacks with fresh products purchased directly from the source.  The Agassiz tour offers a stop at numerous farms (Plenty Wild Farms, Tasty Chicken and Canadian Hazelnut Farm to name a few) as well as Farmhouse Natural Cheeses, The Agassiz Harrison Museum and Magpie Bakery. On the Chilliwack tour, hungry riders can stop in at Happy Days Dairy Farm, Greendale Pottery and Angus Beef and Chilliwack Natural Honey (also take a romp in corn maze and check out a Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve). Tours go ahead rain or shine.
July 27 & 28 | 9am – 4pm | Chilliwack or Agassiz | $15 each or $25 for both | DETAILS

HISTORY | If you’re interested in familiarizing yourself with the history (and future, for that matter) of Vancouver’s core, you’ll want to tag along with Michael Gordon, the City of Vancouver’s Senior Planner for Downtown Vancouver, as he leads a walk of of Granville and West Georgia streets this Saturday. The tour will kick-off at Granville Square Plaza and then roll from block to block touching on ways in which these streets began and grew into not only a transit hub and shopping destination, but also a business, culture, accommodation and entertainment centre. The tour will end in the lobby of the Hotel Vancouver – just in time for tea or an afternoon cocktail. Be sure to register in advance.
Sat, July 27 | 11am-1pm | Granville Square Plaza (200 Granville) | $15 | DETAILS

PECHA KUCHA NEW WEST | Take a quick SkyTrain ride out to New West on Saturday for an outdoor Pecha Kucha Night. The Pecha Kucha format sees a group of interesting, often very accomplished individuals taking the stage to present 20 images for 20 seconds each while talking about what inspires/drives them. It’s a mind-expanding event that everyone should attend. The really cool bit about this edition is that it will take place under the stars at Westminster Pier Park. Arrive early to grab something to eat (pre-order from Re-Up BBQ or Chef Angus An’s Longtail Kitchen) and chill out while listening to music by DJ Trike’s Jonathan Igharas as the last rays of summer sun hit the wooden walkways. Awesome, right? It gets better – the tickets are free. All you have to do is sign up so that organizers know how many people are coming.
Sat, July 27 | 9pm | Westminster Pier Park (224 Front St), New West | Free | DETAILS

ART | Over the last few years many of Vancouver’s galleries have re-located to a parcel of land between Main Street and Clark Drive just above Industrial Avenue. This area has adopted the name ‘The Flats’ and this weekend they are planning to strut their stuff with a collective summer bash boasting numerous exhibitions. Get this: Monte Clark Gallery will be showing Street View, photographs by Scott McFarland; the Equinox and Winsor Galleries will each have a group show on their walls; Macaulay & Co. Fine Art will be showing Cracker-Barrel, another group show (this one is about “the intersection of do-it-yourself aesthetics, and utopian domestic spaces”); and The Pleasure of Devouring That Which Plagues You – an exhibition of hand-carved sculpture by Jonathan Syme – will be at The Wil Aballe Art Project.
Sat, July 27 | Various locations “The Flats” – check website for DETAILS

FIREWORKS | Keep in mind that Celebration of Light fireworks start this week (Saturday). First to represent their country with pyrotechnic expression is the UK (July 27), followed by Canada (July 31), and finally, Thailand (August 3rd). Plan accordingly, and for crying out loud, don’t try to drive through the West End while the festivities are going down. For serious. If you appreciate your fellow man at all, if you need to be downtown this Saturday, avoid your automobile at all costs.
Saturdays, July 27, 31, August 3 | English Bay | Free | DETAILS

WHISTLER | This is a good weekend to take in Whistler’s Artwalk. Every July and August the Whistler Art Council puts on this fantastic celebration of the local arts scene. They utilize public and commercial spaces to display all manner of creations, everything from paintings and sculptures to ceramics and photographs. This Thursday night is one of the biggest nights of Artwalk. It’s called Block pARTy; an evening event that sees “Function Junction” closed down for a proper block party complete with food, live music, real-live artists and galleries with open doors. No need to drive; there will be a free shuttle leaving Whistler Village (at the cab loop) every 30 minutes starting at 6pm.
Thursday, July 25 | 6:30-9:30pm | Millar Creek Road, Function Junction, Whistler | DETAILS

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

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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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