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 October 9 – October 16 , 2019. Note that you can also 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.

LISTEN | There’s something about the the shift in seasons that fits so well with a reflective night of classical music. Grab a seat at the Chan Centre this Friday night and embrace Autumn with a good dose of Debussy, Carrabré and Rachmaninoff. Tickets are only $8! Find out more.

OKTOBERFEST | Guzzle some German pints in celebration of Oktoberfest at The Alpen Club this weekend. They’ve always done it right. From classic Schlager songs to the Bavarian buffet, it’s the real deal. The club’s slogan says it best: “Real Oktoberfest by Real Germans.” Das original! Find out more.

LAUGH | Superstar Matty Matheson is in town. Scoop a ticket to see him at the Commodore as part of his Happy Vulnerable Tasty Sadness Happy Tour on Saturday afternoon. More information and tickets here.

FILM FEST | This is the last week of the Vancouver International Film Festival. Don’t panic!  Screenings continue through Friday and there are still some great films to catch. Find out more.

ART & TEA | Dr. Sun Yat-Sen Classical Chinese Garden Artist-in-Residence Lam Wong will be giving a curatorial tour of the Chaji group exhibition at the gardens on Saturday. Join in on the tour to learn about the meanings of the various artworks included in the exhibit and stick around afterwards to for a tea ceremony and wander the paths and bridges of the garden. Find out more.

VOTE | Election Day is fast approaching (October 21). If you’re looking for an efficient and informative way to bring yourself up to speed on local candidates and the issues that are important to them, there’s an All Candidates Meeting for Vancouver East going on at Britannia Secondary School on Thursday night. Sadly, neither Conservatives, nor Liberals have confirmed attendance (which makes it a little slim on “Candidates” portion of the evening) but there will be 6 individuals present and ready to respond to your questions: Anne Jamieson (Marxist-Leninist Party of Canada), Bridget Burns (Green Party), Golok Buday (Libertarian Party of Canada), Jenny Kwan (New Democratic Party), Karin Litzcke (People’s Party of Canada), and Peter Marcus (Communist Party of Canada). Find out more.

HIKE | Fall is a perfect time for hiking in Vancouver. Temperatures are accommodating, crowds thin out and the colours, smells and sounds are captivating. Take the low road out to Lighthouse Park (doable by car, bike or bus) and wander the trails for a few hours. There’s nothing quite as restorative and grounding as time out to appreciate nature. Breathe deep, smell the forest and salt air. When you’re done, hit up Savary Island Pie Co. for a piece of pumpkin pie and a latte.

THANKSGIVING | Leaves are falling, pumpkin patches are popping – this is going to be a great three day weekend! Hit a farmers market for all the best veggies (see below), score a pie from The Pie Shoppe on Powell Street (call ahead, they tend to sell out of those tasty little dudes pretty fast and we wouldn’t want you to be disappointed). If you’d rather not cook, there are a number sweet alternatives, including a Thanksgiving Turducken Feast at Juke; a Ready-Made Thanksgiving Feast to Take Home from Two Rivers; a sit down dinner at The Cascade Room; and turkey alternatives like the Côte De Boeuf dinner at The MacKenzie Room and an ‘Everything But The Bird’ feast at Acorn.  Find out more.

EAT LOCAL | They say you never know what you’ve got until it’s gone. Farmers Markets are on the wane so we’re giving you the heads-up. Take full advantage of the harvest season and the fact that these markets are here for you right now – because they’ll be gone soon (Trout Lake, West End deliver their last markets October 19, Kits shuts up for the winter after their October 20th market, and although Mount Pleasant pushes through until the 27th, after that Riley Park and Hastings Park are the only ones left standing until next Spring ). All kinds of apples are happening right now, plus healthy kale, grounding squash, and all the tomatoes. Also cheeses, artisan breads, preserves, honey, wild salmon, cookies, and pies for days. Support the people who grow and make our food! Find out more.

HEADS-UP | Feeling messed up about the future of the planet? There’s a Pacific Institute of Theoretical Physics lecture happening next Wednesday that might help. Carbon Capture From the Atmosphere: A Solution to Global Warming? will take a look at Canadian clean energy company, Carbon Engineering Ltd. and their invention of industrially-scalable “Direct Air Capture” technology to address the issue of CO2 emissions. From event organizers: “This technology removes CO2 directly from the atmosphere and can permanently store it underground. In addition, it can be used to reduce emissions by producing ultra-low carbon synthetic fuels, which can power existing cars, trucks and airplanes without any modifications. This talk will explain basic facts about global warming, the challenges involved in stopping it, the direct air capture process now being developed for this purpose, and how it may be scaled up to deal with global needs.” Sounds hopeful. Thanks. Find out more.