From our calendar to yours comes this carefully considered agenda of cool things we are doing, wishing we could do, or conspiring to do in Vancouver from April 25 to May 1, 2018. Please note that you can now get the Scout List – with a few extra pieces of intel included – sent to your inbox every Thursday. Sign up for your subscription in the sidebar.

ART DOC | It’s Canada Film Week and our cinematic act of patriotism has us checking out Thursday evening’s special screening of ‘Ken Foster.’ The 2016 documentary is a non-judgmental portrait of the titular Vancouver street artist and drug addict that sounds like a must-see for all Vancouverites. According to the VIFF website, this “sympathetic, intimate film about a highly intelligent, talented and unorthodox artist…makes the case that Foster embraces the drug life precisely to strip himself of bourgeois comforts; that the necessity of feeding his habit compels him to produce art in prodigious qualities, and free of the decadent affectations of the art market.” Find out more.

CITY | Frustrated by the cost of housing in Vancouver? Interested in exploring an alternative to the current model? You might want to check out The Canadian Cohousing Conference this weekend. While events and tours are starting to sell out, there are still a healthy number of options available (Cohousing 101, Cohousing “Lite”, Next Steps for New Groups: Now What? and Growing Up In Cohousing all still have room). Get inspired! Find out more.

BIKE THE BLOSSOMS | The good folks of Velopalooza (a local organization that promotes fun bike rides and activities around Vancouver) and the Vancouver Cherry Blossom Festival have once again joined forces to offer a free guided bike tour of some of the most stunning examples of tree-studded boulevards and parks in the city. The window for blossom viewing is short, so get on a bike and take it in! Bonus: Pop-Up City Hall and Project 529 will be on-site to help participants with anti-bike-theft measures. Find out more.

BIKE SWAP | Speaking of bikes: isn’t this sunshine great?! It’s getting to be that time of the year when we can start to think about cruising around on bikes again for the mere sun-on-our-faces pleasure of it). Don’t have a bike or looking to trade in your old ride for something slicker? You’re in luck because this weekend brings with it the 8th annual vintage bicycle swap at Britannia Centre. Buy, sell or trade bikes as well as parts and tools. Cruisers, BMX, road bikes and muscle bikes – they’ll all be there, looking for new homes! Find out more.

NATURE | Scoot yourself out to the Richmond Nature Park this Sunday and catch the annual Hawk and Owl Show. Trained representatives from the Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society will be at the park to introduce the public to these magnificent birds of prey and answer questions about everything from diet and hunting skills to mating and habitat. All ages are welcome. Admission is by donation with proceeds supporting educational programs at the park. Find out more.

PRE-AVENGER BEERS | The new Avengers movie, “Infinity War”, also hits theatres on Thursday. No doubt the big theatres will be mayhem, so if you prefer a more low-key experience, then take note that there are several regular and 3D screenings happening at Fifth Avenue cinema…which also happens to be around the corner from the West Broadway location of Storm Crow Alehouse. How convenient! Even better, the notoriously nerdy tavern is hosting an honorary night that includes trivia, a Strange Fellows tap takeover and a cosplay walk-off. What better way to celebrate pre- and/or post-screening then with beers among brethren comic and film lovers? Find out more.

CAPTURE | It’s the last weekend of the Capture Photography Festival! Squeeze the most of the program by heading out to North Van’s Polygon Gallery for a presentation and book signing by visiting scholar and photography critic, Kaja Silverman. Not only is her latest volume on the history of photography (‘The Three-Personed Picture, or the History of Photography, Part 2’) at the top of our Cool Things We Want list this month, but her work was also the inspiration behind the festival’s feature exhibition, ‘The Blue Hour’. If you’re interested in photography, this is one event that’s not to be missed! Find out more.

GIG | Local rockers the Japandroids are playing a whopping three back-to-back shows at Fortune Sound Club this week. Both the Friday early show and the Saturday night gig have already sold out, but tickets for the Thursday night Vancouver kick-off gig are still available. Get an early start to your weekend by fixing yourself up with some tickets now, then spend the rest of the weekend gloating, not groaning, about the show! Find out more.

FEAST TOFINO | Now that spring is properly here, it’s time to experience Vancouver Island’s “boat to table” food culture at the 8th annual Feast Tofino festival. From April 20th to May 6th, the laid-back surf town of Tofino goes gastronomic with a series of tastings and dinners at various locations. There are so many excellent eateries and oodles enthusiasm for high quality ingredients at the end of the Canadian road. The 2018 festival delivers something for every meal, mood and budget, from an elegant caviar brunch with bubbly, to beach BBQ, and multi-course dinners. Events will go down at some of the town’s best food and beverage establishments, but also on beaches, and on docks – the aim of the festival, after all, is to highlight the ingredients, people and surroundings that make Tofino so amazingly delicious. Find out more.

NEW WEST | Rain or sun, there are a bunch of tasty reasons to gather up some beer-loving friends and take a trip out to New West this week. To start, you’ll want to check out the acoustics (and beer) at music-loving Steel & Oak Brewing Co.’s newly expanded tasting room. Head out after Thursday, when the brewery is also launching the fourth of their Brewer’s Series beers, a bread beer called ‘Khlib’, which was made using local sourdough from Solodko bakery. Obviously you’ll want to keep the yeasty theme going by following the scent of fresh bread to the nearby bakery and cafe (about 20 min on foot). After you’re done soaking up the alcohol with Ukrainian comfort food like borsch, chicken soup, perogies, grab a loaf of beet and cranberry sourdough to have on hand for some potentially rainy day weekend brunches at home. Then, before you hit the road or train back into the city, check out guide to New West here for more excuses to extend your day trip. Find out more.