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!

OPENING | The Arbor opens this week to serve up quick-service vegetarian comfort food on Main Street. Like its sister restaurant, The Acorn, The Arbor is 100% plant-based. Having snuck in for a tasting last week we can confirm that everything is good, but we suggest starting with a signature Arburger with a side of fries or onion rings. Also, the chocolate coconut parfait is crazy good. Read more about our pre-opening tasting here.
7 days | 11am-midnight | The Arbor (3941 Main St.) | DETAILS

LECTURE | Hustle down to SFU Harbour Centre for a Thursday evening lecture focused on Re-defining the Public in Public Libraries. From SFU: “Dr. Lisa Freeman will discuss the changing role of public libraries in the context of urban governance. Dr. Freeman asks how the publicness of the library is performed in the context of austerity measures and municipal governance. This research raises important questions about the role of citizen boards in governing changing public spaces in our cities.” This event is part of the SFU Urban Studies Program’s Fall lecture series: Who Gets to be Part of the City? Free, but reservations required.
Thu, Nov. 24 | 7pm | SFU Harbour Centre (515 W Hastings St.) | Free | DETAILS

ADVENTURE | Fancy yourself a spot of underwater archaeology? Head to the Maritime Museum on Thursday night for a screening of the documentary film, Finding the A.J. Goddard: A Tale of Modern Day Discovery. The 25 minute film follows a team of “amateur and professional underwater archaeologists tell the story of discovering a steam ship that had been lost for over 100 years after sinking during the gold rush in the Great Canadian Yukon.” Stick around after the film for a Live Q&A session with the man who discovered the shipwreck, Doug Davidge, as well as the Director, Jesse Davidge.
Thu, Nov. 24 | 6:30-7:30 pm | Vancouver Maritime Museum, (1905 Ogden Ave) | DETAILS 

DAY OFF SHOP | Two of our favourite local jewellery designers – Ali Munn of Ali Munn Jewellery and Marie Foxall of Wasted Effort – have joined forces to open a store front and studio in Chinatown and we’re stoked. Day Off will be located on the sweet strip of Columbia street that is also home to Duchesse Vintage and The Shop (between Pender and Hastings). The duo are kicking things off in style with a launch party (6-10pm, Friday November 25) and a pop-up (11-7pm, November 25-27) full of terrific locally made goods. Poke your head in to say hello on the way to see Brasstronaut (see below).
Day Off | 11am-7pm Sat/Sun through to Dec 18th | 436 Columbia St. | DETAILS

GIG | Local band Brasstronaut are having a release party for their third studio album at Fortune Sound Club this Friday night. This self-titled album has a sound “…that sees familiar strands of the band’s experimental roots expanded upon towards something more confidently kinetic, while at the same time drawing from each member’s strength to form a more kaleidoscopic whole.” Joined by special guests Speaker Face (awesome name), we suggest you skip over to Youtube for a listen to Brasstronaut Raveshadow and then try to imagine anything better to do with your Friday night. This is going to be a great show!
Fri, Nov. 25 | Fortune Sound Club (147 E. Pender St.) | DETAILS

POUNCE | We say it every year: return those empties, sell some books, dip into the piggy bank — do whatever you have to do to pull together some cash and then get yourself to Emily Carr’s legendary Student Art Sale this weekend. It’s one of the best ways to score original works by talented local artists before they’re “discovered” and their prices climb beyond the reach of us normal folks. Browse through everything from paintings and prints to sculptures and clothes.
Nov. 25-27 | 12pm-5pm (8pm on Friday) | Emily Carr University of Art & Design | DETAILS

CRAFTY | The community of Strathcona is getting together for a kick ass winter craft fair this weekend. The little DTES neighbourhood is jam-packed with talented, creative, and community-minded people, so it’s no surprise that the organizers have wrangled a wide cross-section of over 50 vendors this year. Put a dent in your holiday shopping list. Bonus: Santa will totally appreciate how you support local artisans and independent designers!
Sat, Nov. 26 | 10am-4pm | Strathcona Community Centre (601 Keefer St.) | DETAILS

FRESH AIR | Winter beaches have a lot to offer. Swimming isn’t advised, but cold water is clear and nice to stare in to. Take some time out to appreciate seaweed, shells, rocks and beach glass. Climb around on cliffs or sit on a log with a hot tea and contemplate how great it is to live in a city skirted by a shore that lets you touch down with nature. A walk at Whytecliff Park in West Van would be a beautiful way to start any day this time of year | Any time | Free

PHOTOGRAPHY | This is a good weekend to step out of the damp and wander the Vancouver Art Gallery. Not only are there more than 200 black and white and colour Walker Evans photographs to peruse, but the VAG has also curated Stare, a show of photographic works that “evoke a fixed and concentrated gaze on the part of artist and viewer.” It’s inspired by Evans’ advice to “Stare, pry, listen, eavesdrop. Die knowing something.” This Saturday, SFU prof Zoë Druick will be on site to discuss Documentary and the Politics of Authenticity as it relates to Walker Evans’ Depth of Field exhibition. From the gallery: “This talk will consider Walker Evans’ photographic practice in light of international currents of documentary in the 1920s and 30s. Evans was certainly not alone in balancing the demands of working with state and corporate sponsors in his time. But why were documentary media considered to be such a central technique for political visualization of the era? And how do issues of authenticity persist in documentary practice today?” Seating is limited so get there early!
Sat, Nov. 26 | 3pm | Annex Workshop, VAG (750 Hornby St.) | Free with VAG admission | DETAILS

HEADS-UP | If you know Vancouver artist Robert Chaplin you probably know he’s been working on something cool. The guy is a creative polymath who can switch from writer to illustrator to carver or painter in the blink of an eye. His most recent project is a cheeky retelling of the Brothers Grimm classic, ‘The Elves and The Shoemaker’ with a local Fluevogian spin. From the artist: “When everybody’s talking about the death of print media. Why not publish a book and sell it in a shoe store? Why not find the best Shoe store with the coolest shoes, put elves in those shoes and then publish a magical book just in time for Christmas?” Why not, indeed? If you are wandering the cobblestone streets of Gastown next Wednesday night, be sure to pop your head in to the launch at Fluevog Shoes in Gastown (65 Water St). John Fluevog himself will be reading from the book and a good time will be had by all.
Wed, Nov. 30 | 6-8pm | Fluevog, 65 Water St. | DETAILS