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. You can also check it out in the Globe & Mail, from our calendar to theirs…and yours!

WATCH | The Vancouver International Film Festival is on and it’s big. How big? Over 350 films big. Almost overwhelming, right? Narrow things down by browsing by series (films are classified into a number of themed series such as Altered States, Cinema of Our Time, BC Spotlight, Dragons & Tigers, Spotlight on France, Short Films, Documentaries and Special Presentations) as well as by genre and venue. Still, 350 films? That’s a lot to take in! For a curated list of must-sees, have a look here.
Sept. 24 – Oct. 9 | Various Times and Locations | DETAILS

DESIGN | IDSWest kicks off Thursday night. Expect everything from small scale and handmade furniture and art to large scale instalments and groundbreaking concepts. We’re particularly interested in checking out The District, a marketplace for local designers selling everything from cutting boards and textiles to candles and cups. We also want to sit in on a few Gray Conversations (the panel speaking on Designing Places To Eat, Drink and Stay includes local boys Craig Stanghetta and David Nicolay) and check out the LA Exchange and the Portland Pop-Ups to see what they know. Local and international exhibitors, speakers and design wonks will be gathering at IDSWest to show, discuss, collaborate and inspire all weekend long, but we suggest you make a point of hitting the launch party; music will be playing, wine will be flowing, and good times will be had.
Thu, Sept 24 | 6-10pm | Opening Night Party (19+ trade and consumers) | DETAILS
Fri, Sept 25 | 9:30am – 5:30pm | Professional Trade Day (Trade only) | DETAILS
Sat, Sept 26 | 10am–6pm | Open to the public | DETAILS
Sun Sept 27 | 10am-5pm | Open to the public | DETAILS

ART | Jay Senetchko’s The Best of Life opens at the Burrard Arts Foundation on Thursday night. In this solo show Senetchko uses the themes of nuclear family, violence, racial tension, labour, and leisure (with an emphasis on 1950-60’s North America) to ask questions about perception, nostalgia, and reality. “We all have relationships to the past,” he says, “but whether these memories are positive, negative or neutral, they are all inaccurate. We distort events mentally as soon as they happen, and the further they recede into our private histories, the more distorted they become.” The show continues through to October 31. 
Thu, Sep 24 | 7pm | Burrard Arts Foundation (108 E Broadway)| DETAILS

LANTERNS | This Saturday welcomes the Renfrew Ravine Still Moon Festival.  It’s a excellent twilight celebration of art, music, environmental stewardship, and community participation. Start your full moon experience in the afternoon at Slocan Park with a harvest festival. As dusk gathers, lanterns will be lit and a procession will begin to form. Jump in and follow along as it winds through alleyways and forested ravine pathways until it reaches Renfrew Park. The magic begins as night falls. Take in all the lantern installations; learn about salmon, rivers and ravines; enjoy roaming performers and live music; and make sure to stop for some tea and moon cake in the Renfrew Field Tea Garden.
Sat, Sept. 26 | Slocan Park Harvest Fair, 4-7pm | 7:30-9pm Lanterns, Renfrew Park | DETAILS

ARCHITECTURE | The Vancouver Heritage Foundation is holding its annual Midcentury Modern Residential House Tour this weekend. Tour participants get to tour the interiors of five significant Modernist homes, including a 1962 Arthur Erickson home and The Electra Building. Expect elevated aesthetic appreciation and a big dose of real estate envy. Although tickets for the shuttle and spaces at the post-tour reception are both sold out, die hard ’Post and Beam’ enthusiasts are still welcome to get in on the self-guided tour portion of the day using independent transportation.
Sat, Sept 26 | 1-5pm | Various Locations | $90 | DETAILS

HOT ONE INCH ACTION | Once a year, Vancouver art enthusiasts Chris Bentzen and Jim Hoehnle curate a show of the works of 50 local artists. It’s called Hot One Inch Action. It’s a unique exhibition in which participating artists have been charged with creating art that must fit inside a 1″ button. Those attending the show can purchase a mixed pack of five buttons for $5, the catch being that the pack will be random and you may not score the item you were initially after. That’s when the fun begins and people start bargaining and trading. There will be a limited supply of buttons, so we suggest arriving early to avoid disappointment.
Sat, Sept 26 | 7-11pm | Hot Art Wet City (2206 Main @ 6th) | DETAILS

JAPANESE HARVEST | Take a trip out to Burnaby on Saturday and hit the Japanese Fall Harvest Fair and Bazaar at the Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre. In addition to a market of fresh Japanese vegetables (think gobo, kabocha, daikon, kabura, ninjin, napa, etc.) and homemade traditional Japanese foods, baked goods, tsukemono (picked things), and chewy manju, there will be a talk about portable shrines as part of the Japanese Folk Art exhibit “Mingei“.
Sat, Sept 26 | 11am | Nikkei Museum (6688 Southoaks Cr, Burnaby)| Free | DETAILS

GO GREEK | Hit the West Side to eat, dance and celebrate like a Greek this weekend. The 38th annual Greek Food Festival goes down at the Hellenic Community Centre on Arbutus, a beautiful building with lots and lots of space for booths and tables of lovingly prepared traditional Greek foods. Take a seat in the dining room to feast on a roast lamb or mousakka dinner, grab a gyro, wash back a few deep fried honey dumplings (Loukoumades) with an authentic Greek coffee. They’ve got you covered. Admission is free, but take some cash for food.
Sept 25, 26, 27 | 12-10 | Hellenic Community Centre (4500 Arbutus St,) | Free | DETAILS

NATURE | The Stanley Park Ecology Society is offering a few hours of forest education this Sunday. Head to the Nature House on Lost Lagoon to take part in “Stumped: The Life of Dead Trees”, a talk/walk that takes a look at the intricate community of plants and animals that live among standing, fallen, dying, and dead trees.
Sun, Sep 27 | 1:30-3:30pm | Lost Lagoon Nature House (foot of Chilco and Alberni St) | DETAILS

MID AUTUMN MOON | Celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon at the Dr. Sun Yat Sen gardens on Sunday. Expect mooncakes, music, tea and lanterns as well as storytelling by author Loretta Seto, numerous traditional Chinese games and, of course, the relaxing and beautiful gardens themselves. This year they’ve teamed up with the good and space-savvy peeps from the H.R. MacMillan Space Centre to bring festival goers an even closer look at the magical Harvest Moon.
Sun, Sept. 27 | 5-10pm | Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Chinese Gardens (578 Carrall) | $10 ($20 Family) | DETAILS