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!

BASEBALL | If you haven’t made a trip to Nat Bailey Stadium this summer, this is your chance to make things right. The Vancouver Canadians are at home this week, playing the Salem-Keizer Volcanoes Tuesday through Friday. A bag of peanuts, a cold beer and a baseball game on your home field is the right thing to do.
Aug 30 – Sept 2 | Scotiabank Field at Nat Bailey Stadium (4601 Ontario St.) | $15+ | DETAILS

MAKE | The 2016 Mid-Autumn Moon Festival is coming up (it takes place September 15), and central to it is the tradition of gathering with friends and family to share mooncakes under the full moon. Sure, you could buy the cakes, but why not hit the Mount Pleasant Community Centre this Saturday to take part in a mooncake-making workshop that will arm you with all the info and practical expertise you’ll need to make your own? You’ll learn about the different delicious types and hear a little about their history too.
Sat, Sep. 3 | 9:30am – 12:30pm | Mount Pleasant Community Centre | DETAILS

SHOP | Nouvelle Nouvelle always puts together beautifully considered selections of clothing and accessories. We love to browse (and occasionally purchase) their wares during regular retail hours, but every once in a while they also hold a rad event, cram it full of cool people and have a really good time. If you’re kicking around Gastown on Thursday evening, we recommend stopping in to the bright and inviting Abbott St. storefront for the Wasted Effort, Genesis Collection launch. In addition to first crack at buying from the new Wasted Effort line, you’ll also meet the designer (Marie Foxall), flip through the beautiful, collaborative lookbook put together by a solid gang of Vancouver creatives, and basically dig the all-around good vibe. Support local and look good as a result!
Thu, Sep. 1 | 7pm | 209 Abbott St. | Free | DETAILS

HARVEST | Summer is not even officially over yet, but Fall Fairs are starting to pop up. Get into the autumnal spirit at the Mount Pleasant Farmers Market this Sunday with a Harvest Fair that involves a pumpkin patch, squash displays, barrels and crates of crisp autumn apples, and much more. Get inspired, embrace the drizzle that is expected over the weekend and make yourself an apple pie, a bowl of mushroom pasta or a big tray of baked squash. Comfort food season here we come!
Sun, Sep. 4 | 10am–2pm | 2300 Guelph St. | DETAILS

FIGHT CLUB | You’ve probably already seen it, but Fight Club is one of those films that your brain needs to revisit from time to time. And it’s time. Skip over to The Rio Theatre this Friday for a refresher of the film that, according to Rolling Stone, “…pulls you in, challenges your prejudices, rocks your world and leaves you laughing in the face of an abyss.” And when is that not a good plan? Mischief. Mayhem. Soap. Get into it with a red leather jacket and sunglasses.
Fri, Sep. 2 | 11:30pm | Rio Theatre (1660 E. Broadway) | $10 | DETAILS

WILDCRAFT | Put aside Sunday and bring yourself up to speed on how to gather wild plants. Camille Flanjak of MuseumEats leads a day long Wildcrafting Workshop focused on late summer fungi, wild herbs, and fruit. Attendees will leave informed on a whole new level. Learn what’s safe to pick and when it’s best to pick it; hear a bit about wild mushroom, herb and fruits and the roles that they play in ecology, culture, and food security; practice identification and harvesting techniques with a wildcraft ethic that respects the plant, the place and the importance of ensuring abundance trough mindful gathering; all good things! A steal at only $65 per person.
Sun, Sep. 4 | 9:30am-5:30pm | Secret locations | $65 | DETAILS

LIVE MUSIC | The Victory Square Block Party happens this Sunday. Local talent taking the stage include Tough Customer, So Loki, Jody Glenham & The Dreamers, Pale Red, Swim Team, Milk, Mourning Coup and SBDC. There will also be food vendors (Slavic Rolls, Capilano Tea, Melt City Grilled Cheese and more); DJ’s to fill the space in between sets; prizes (a raffle of goodies supplied by local business); and good times galore. Make sure you grab one of those raffle tickets with proceeds going to supportCiTR 101.9FM (Vancouver’s independent community radio station) and Megaphone, a magazine sold by local homeless and low income vendors to generate personal income.
Sun, Sep. 4 | 2-9pm | Victory Square Block Party (Cambie & W. Hastings) | Free | DETAILS

SCIENCE | Head out to UBC and hit the the Beaty Biodiversity Museum for their Way Cool Biodiversity series and a lecture on what makes little birds so cool. From the Museum: “Imagine if you could go on a tropical vacation every year. The catch though: you have to get there by running… that’s a long way! Yellow warblers (and other warblers too) are way cool because, despite weighing little more than a toonie, they are long distance flyers. Every year, as the summer ends they fly over 5,000 km to the tropics to escape Canadian winter, then 7 months later, they have to fly all the way back here, over 10,000 km per year.” PhD candidate Simon Valdez speaks about the challenges small birds face and the amazing adaptations and behaviours that help them to do amazing things. Learn a little.
Sun, Sep. 4 | 1pm | UBC Biodiversity Museum | Free with admission | DETAILS

OPERA | Take a wander down to Chinatown on Sunday for a Kun Opera Workshop & Demonstration at theDr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden Developed during the Ming Dynasty, Kun (or Kunqu) Opera is one of the oldest extant forms of Chinese opera and uses a sophisticated combination of words, music and dance to convey story in a unique style. The official word: “Join us in the Garden for a lively workshop and demonstration featuring two international masters of the art, Mr. Xiaowu Huang and Ms. Weijian Wang, on a special visit to Vancouver. Guests will have the opportunity to learn about the various components involved in Kunqu, from gestures and facial expressions to water sleeves and song notations. Our visiting first-class performers will demonstrate the importance of body and costume movements in combination with rhythmic passages and the language of Kunqu to create a Chinese musical and dramatic performance. All ages and levels welcome.”
Sun, Sept. 4 | 2-4pm | Hall of One Hundred Rivers (Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden) | DETAILS

PUT YOUR FEET UP | This is the last long weekend of the summer. Your primary responsibility to yourself should be to find some time to kick back. Take a hike, plan brunch with family or friends, sit on the couch for a full day movie marathon – whatever it is that you’ve been meaning to get to but couldn’t manage to fit in to the skimpy two day weekends of yore. For brunch, we’ve got a fine list of some of Vancouver’s better options here. For a broader gameplan, click here.

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