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!

BEER AND HONEY | Bees are vital. Happy and healthy ones pollinate gardens; happy gardens make people healthy (and happy); and happy, healthy people make happy and healthy communities. You get the picture! It’s really important to do what we can for bees. Hives For Humanity gets it. The Vancouver organization establishes apiaries in communities and, through a mentorship program, educate and support these communities as they learn the art and practice of beekeeping. Right now the good people of H4H are looking to build a connection space for people and pollinators in the Downtown Eastside. Helping them is as easy as drinking a little beer, tasting some honey, and listening to some music. The Hives for Humanity Fundraiser event goes down at Big Rock Urban Brewery this Thursday. Do it for the bees!
Thu, Oct 22 | 6pm | Big Rock Urban Brewery (310 West 4th) | $10 | DETAILS

BOOKS | If you like books and live in Vancouver, you know the magic that falls around you when you cross the threshold into MacLeod’s. That delightfully dusty smell, creaking floors, steeply stacked shelves and haphazard piles of books that leave only thin strips of flooring as pathways…so awesome. Finding yourself on the other side of an hour down the rabbit hole at this store with a handful of titles and a brain full of anticipation is a rewarding indulgence. It’s a holy place for Vancouver bibliophiles. Take a bit of time out this week to celebrate the man behind the magic at the Alcuin Society 50th Anniversary Talk Series with special guest, Don Stewart, the owner of MacLeod’s. Stewart will present his experience as a long-standing bookseller and bookstore owner in an ever-changing market. Should be fascinating!
Thu, Oct 22 | 7pm | The Post (750, 110-750 Hamilton St) | DETAILS

BEETLEJUICE | Beetlejuice Beetlejuice Beetlejuice! Catch the midnight movie at the Rio Theatre this Friday night. Extra points for film-related costumes, so dig out that black and white striped suit, pick up a beer from the theatre bar and slide into one of those comfy velvet seats for an evening of Tim Burton-style entertainment. You shouldn’t need a refresher on this one, but just in case…From the Rio: “Thanks to an untimely demise via drowning, a young couple  (Geena Davis, Alec Baldwin) end up as poltergeists in their New England farmhouse, where they fail to meet the challenge of scaring away the insufferable new owners, who want to make drastic changes. In desperation, the undead newlyweds turn to an expert frightmeister (Michael Keaton), but he’s got a diabolical agenda of his own.” Now, let’s turn on the juice and see what shakes loose!
Fri, Oct. 23 | 11:30 pm | Rio Theatre (1660 E Broadway) | $8/$6 | DETAILS

WRITERS FEST | The line up for the 2015 Vancouver Writers Festival is pretty sweet, and if you move fast there’s still a chance to score tickets. Author Lawrence Hill (The Book Of Negroes) will be there, so will Simon Winchester who speaks about his new book Pacific with CBC host Gloria Macarenko (about how the Pacific Ocean defines our tomorrow). Ensaf Haidar, activist, author and wife of jailed Saudi blogger Raif Badawi, will also be at the festival to chat about her husband’s situation and the circumstances that led to imprisonment, in a book titled 1000 Lashes. We are also very interested to catch the Vancouver debut of Freeman’s (a new biannual mag that will showcase fresh literature from known and unknown writers). Check out the full line-up here.
Now through Oct. 25 | various times, locations (Mostly Granville Island), prices | DETAILS

ARCHITECTURE | With a view to demonstrating laneway housing as a clever solution to “Densification without Demolition”, the Vancouver Heritage Foundation has once again arranged for a series of homes to be opened to the public for their annual Laneway Home Tour. Take a peek inside five unique houses and be inspired by designs and innovations that show how increased density can be smart, stylish and comfortable while making good use of underused land on existing lots.
Sat, Oct. 24 | 1pm | Various Locations | $30 | DETAILS

SCIENCE | Use your Saturday morning to get cerebral. Grab a strong cup of coffee and head out to Canada’s national laboratory for particle and nuclear physics (TRIUMF) at UBC and bring yourself up-to-speed on Albert Einstein and his legacy. Very specifically, this talk will cover Brownian Motion: from the reality of atoms to the inner life of cells and E=mc^2 and nuclear processes on Earth and in the Cosmos. Sound slightly overwhelming? Don’t fret, super smart staff from SFU and TRIUMF will talk you through it. You’ll leave illuminated and ready to dominate the science portion of any spontaneous cocktail party trivia throw down.
Sat, Oct. 24 | 10am–12pm | TRIUMF (4004 Wesbrook Mall, UBC) | DETAILS

ICONS | Looking to shake things up with some new duds? Our advice is that you take a pocket of cash to the subterranean caverns of the Biltmore Cabaret this Saturday for the Icons Vintage Market. This time around, organizers are going with a Halloween theme. Expect tarot card readers, halloween drinks specials, a photo booth complete with creepy tickle trunk as well as over 30 vendors and a couple of food trucks as well as! Swoop in and score retro clothing, flea market finds, fancy antiques, accessories, shoes, jewellery, records, cool household items, cameras, and all manner of other curious trinkets. This is a cabaret, so the bar will be open and you have to be 19+ to enter. Shoppin’, drinkin’, and dancin’ encouraged!
Sat, Oct 24 | 11am–5pm | Biltmore Cabaret (2755 Prince Edward) | DETAILS

ART | Hit Antisocial Skate Shop on Saturday night and catch Bohie Palecek’s show Broken Spells of Golden Vision. Palecek has been busy painting a kick-ass mural on the wall of the tiny gallery in the back of the Main Street skater’s mecca and it’s some good stuff. An illustrator and sign painter influenced by old school (hand painted) signs and hand lettering from Adelaide, Palecek’s style is clean, strong, and imaginative. He focuses on the stuff that should be focused on: adventure, independence, and taking it all in. In addition to the mural, expect to see photos and compelling hand-drawn graphics. Props to Antisocial – good peeps who do a fine job of attracting like-minded buddies from around the world with their integrity and enthusiasm.
Sat, Oct. 24 | Antisocial Skateboard Shop (2337 Main St.) | DETAILS

SHROOMS | If you’ve noticed curious specimens of mushrooms popping up on lawns and in local forests lately you are not alone. Mushroom season is in full swing and there’s much to know. As luck would have it, The Vancouver Mushroom Show goes down this weekend and with it comes the opportunity to hook up with experts from the The Vancouver Mycological Society – a crew of fungi lovers who can fill you in on everything shroomy. Ask all manner of questions, check out displays and identification tables, and get the scoop on what to look for and what to avoid. From edible and medicinal to poisonous, dubious and deadly, there are scores of mushrooms on the scene right now and it’s good to be schooled on the tasty, trippy little things.
Sun, Oct. 25 | 11am-4pm | Van Dusen Botanical Garden (37th & Oak) | $3 | DETAILS

TASTE | Chef Hiroki Watanabe from Tojo’s Restaurant hosts a demonstration, lecture, and tasting at Nikkei Museum this Sunday. Chef Watanabe will prepare Madai (red snapper) Sashimi with Yuzu pepper sauce, Madai (red snapper) soup; Konnyaku, matsutake mushroom, & burdock sauteed salad; Grilled salmon and cream cheese; tenderloin steak a la Chef Hiro; as well as dessert as participants watch, learn, ask questions, and taste. Oh, and if you needed any extra motivation, there’s also a sake seminar and tasting included in the workshop.
Sun, Oct. 25 | 1-3:30pm | Nikkei Museum (6688 Southoaks Crescent, Burnaby) | $55 | DETAILS