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

WRITE | Valentine’s Day is fast approaching. Be bold by sitting down to craft a hand-written letter. If you’re unsure of how to get things rolling, allow The Regional Assembly of Text on Main Street to help out. Take your romantic thoughts and secret confessions and they will hook you up with a brilliant collection of paper, cards, and stamps to help you get the job done. It’s called the Letter Writing Club. It’s free, open to everyone, and supplies are provided. Go ahead and give someone a written thrill!
Thu, Feb. 4 | 7-9:30pm | Regional Assembly of Text (3934 Main St.) | Free | DETAILS

LEARN | Chef Robin Kort (Swallow Tail Culinary Adventures) is going to be out at UBC Farm on Thursday night teaching a workshop on foraging winter goodies from our forests and shores. Kort has been running wild mushroom foraging trips and cooking classes for 6 years – she knows whereof she speaks and she’ll part some quality information in your direction. From UBC: “How would you survive in winter without a grocery store? Chef Robin Kort will teach you how to find winter treasures; food like winter mushrooms, edible trees, roots and seaweeds that you can find under the snow, in our forests, meadows and by the sea.” Participants will get schooled on how to find, identify and prepare edible plants.
Thu, February 4 | 6-7:30pm | UBC Farm | $35 | DETAILS

THE HORROR | The Rio Theatre is showing Apocalypse Now this Friday night. From The Rio: “Loosely adapted from Joseph Conrad’s seminal novella ‘Heart of Darkness.’ Coppola’s masterpiece walks the line between light and dark, with some of the most sweeping flourishes of operatic visuals to illustrate the horrors of war ever put to celluloid. ” The phenomenal Francis Ford Coppola classic starring Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Dennis Hopper, Laurence Fishburne – and yes, even Harrison Ford – should be viewed on as big a screen as possible, so getting out of the house and hitting a real theatre with comfy seats, popcorn, and beer is definitely in order.
Fri, Feb 5 | 4pm | Rio Theatre (1660 E Broadway) | $8 ($6 in costume) | DETAILS

SACRED | Take some time out to get a sense of place and in-depth personal understanding of different cultures and religions by visiting their sacred spaces. The Sacred Spaces tour takes participants to the Guru Nanak Niwas Sikh temple, Al Salaam Masjid mosque, Beth Israel Synagogue, and the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Cathedral. The tour celebrates UN World Interfaith Harmony Week and offers a glimpse into a cross-section of religions with the aim of fostering tolerance and understanding. That sounds like an honourable motivation! The tour is a full day gig and each ticket ($50) includes transportation and lunch. Pretty cool idea.
Thu, Feb 4 | 9am–5:30pm | Various locations | $50 | DETAILS

CITY | Head to the Museum of Vancouver on Thursday night to get in on a talk about transportation planning in Vancouver. Join Lon LaClaire and Steve Brown (City of Vancouver) for a historical perspective on why we have the roads and freeways we have today. Understanding the past informs every conversation we have about the future. From MOV: “This presentation will review how transportation planning has changed to achieve mobility goals and offer an overview of two current initiatives that aim to bridge the gap between 1970s transportation development and the present.” This event concludes with a guided tour through MOV’s new exhibition, Your Future Home: Creating the New Vancouver.
Thu, Feb 4 | 7pm | Museum of Vancouver 1100 Chestnut St. | DETAILS

EXPLORE | Spring is coming and the snow will melt. If you’ve been kicking yourself for not getting up to a local mountain for some proper Canadian winter adventuring, this is the time to do it! This week brings a fantastic opportunity as Grouse Mountain is open for 24 consecutive hours of fun this Saturday/Sunday, which means you can snowboard at 2am if that’s what you want. If you’re really organized, you can fit in some complimentary snowshoeing tours, mountaintop ice skating, sleigh rides and tobogganing, as well as a dance party, theatre under the sky, and a spot of zip-lining without really having to stop.
Feb 6/7 | Grouse Mountnain | Various prices | DETAILS

ART | This is the last week to catch Seeing Things and Water’s Edge at Equinox Gallery and we really think it’s worth making some time in your schedule to go. Seeing Things is a gathering of new paintings by local artist Erin McSavaney that marry the realism of photographed landscapes with colourful embellishments. McSavaney’s beautiful works have a way of conveying life and experience without incorporating the movement of people. Instead, the artist allows the stillness of bridges, fences, buildings and hedges to speak volumes. Outstanding stuff! Water’s Edge, on the other hand, is a collection of photographs by local legend Fred Herzog. From dark and curtained windows to barber shop doorways and neon signs, Herzog’s quiet documentation of life through capturing its smaller moments is magic! It doesn’t matter how many times you see his work, it always resonates with weight. This show closes Saturday, February 6, so don’t miss it!
Now – Feb 6 | Tues-Sat, 10am-5pm | Equinox Gallery (525 Great Northern Way) | DETAILS

SCIENCE | Hustle to the Beaty Biodiversity Museum on Sunday and fill your brain with lots of good plant-related information. The Herbarium at the Beaty is a vast collection of specimens that the museum describes as “an enormous machine that travels in both space and time!” This Sunday is a great time to get yourself to the museum to explore the collection. Not only will Herbarium Manager and Assistant Curator of Vascular Plants & Algae Linda Jennings will be on site with a table full of curious specimens to touch, ogle at, and ask about, but geographer David Brownstein will be on hand “to tell you how the herbarium came to be 100 years ago, and teach you how to drive this machine yourself. During the session you will match original herbarium sheets with photographs from early 20th century plant collecting trips. You will also learn everything you need to construct your own herbarium at home.” Plants are rad, collections are rad, and scientists are super rad. This is so much good. Free with museum admission or membership. See you there.
Sun, Feb 7 | 1pm | Beaty Biodiversity Museum (2212 Main Mall,UBC) | DETAILS

LISTEN | Ian Ilavsky, co-founder of Montreal’s Constellation Records, takes the stage at PuSh Festival venue, The Post, to chat about what it means to be “indie” in the music world. “Are these important terms that define the economics of artistic output, or are they labels that signify outdated values of ‘cultural authenticity’? What does it mean to be indie in this era, and does it matter?” The talk is facilitated by producer, manager and musician Rob Calder of local outfit Secret Study. We’re thinking this will be a pretty fascinating back-and-forth. Jump in and be entertained.
Feb 7 | 12-1:30pm | The Post (110-750 Hamilton Street) | DETAILS

FAMILY DAY | Hooray for family! If you don’t have one, you can always build one out of friends (sometimes it’s easier that way). However you roll, make good use of this day off by getting together with the people you love. Take a walk, linger over coffee, maybe sit down for a good meal. We suggest hustling over to the Pacific Spirit Regional Park where there will be a Nature Fun by the Fire event involving wildlife story-telling and songs, nature talks, and marshmallows roasting — all in a beautiful rainforest! Everyone is welcome and this event is free.
Mon, Feb 8 | 1-3:30pm | (4915 West 16th Ave – 400 m W of Blanca) | DETAILS

To submit an event for consideration, email events [at] scoutmagazine.ca

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 streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy (but faithful) camera.