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 February 26 to March 4, 2020. 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.

CHINA CLOUD | The cool kids at Hidden City Records are putting on a show at China Cloud this Thursday night. Catch a live performance of the first single from local musician Jenny Banai’s new album, Couchwalker; chill out to local soul singer Tonye’s smooth solo set; have a few conversations with some friendly music-loving folks; and generally expand your world a little. Sounds good, right? Find out more.

STEAM | The distance between spotting the first crocus and actual warm-enough-to-leave-your-coat-at-home weather is brutal, isn’t it? Sometimes I just slip into the community centre sauna, close my eyes and pretend to be in a stupidly hot jungle to escape the another week of ‘blah’ weather. Saunas also increase metabolism, improve circulatory health, boost cardiovascular function, promote deeper sleep, and bolster immune function. Those are all good side-effects. Not sure where to begin? From the luxurious steam rooms at hotel spas to community centres and gyms, Vancouver offers a diverse range of detoxifying venues. Check out our list of Vancouver steam and sauna options here.

SYMPHONICITY | Local musicians Heather Beaty and Molly MacKinnon set up another Concert On Tap this week. This time around, the duo grab a few extra musicians and the whole flock of them pop up with re-imagined arrangements of 80s tunes (think The Police, Duran Duran, Stevie Wonder, Seal, Michael Jackson, The Church, Mr. Mister) paired with a tasty flights of 80’s themed mini cocktails at East Vancouver’s Resurrection Spirits. Sounds like a fine way to start to the weekend if you ask us! Find out more.

CLEAN | This weekend is as good as any to get into spring cleaning mode. Clear out closets, empty drawers, unload those accumulated items that you don’t really need! One solid trip to Goodwill with a load of stuff will leave you feeling lighter, freer and cleaner. But what about those items that no one wants? Think broken electronics, car seats, antiquated laptops, busted power tools, and spent household batteries. No point in doing a half-assed job. Get it all dealt with! Hit the Reuse and Recycling Drop-Off Event at Trout Lake Community Centre Parking Lot this weekend. They will accept everything from hard and soft plastics to curtains, books, boomboxes (yes, actually) and broken smoke alarms. Find out more.

GROW | It’s time to start thinking about what you want to line-up for spring planting. Luckily this Saturday is a seedy one! Make a trip to VanDusen Botanical Gardens to score organic and heritage varieties and plants at the annual Seedy Saturday sale. In addition to open pollinated and organic/ecologically grown seeds, you’ll also find display and information tables, master gardeners and expert growers. Basically, this is a full-on spring planting excite-a-thon. Admission is by donation, supporting programs from Seeds of Diversity and the Master Gardeners Association of BC. Find out more.

JAPANESE FOOD FAIR | The Vancouver Buddhist Temple is holding another of their delicious food fairs in Railtown on Sunday. Expect delicious, reasonably priced homemade dishes served at long lunchroom tables and a great community vibe. As one event organizer explains: “All the food is homemade and is unbelievably good. There’s also a large social hall that can sit a couple hundred guests, so you can stay and eat or take it to go. Some would say the food is enlightening!” $6 homemade maki rolls and $5 ohagi and chicken teriyaki? $5 homemade udon, ohagi and chicken teriyaki? Count us in! The window is tight (noon-2pm) and there will be line-ups, but making the time will be worth it!  Find out more.

IMAGINE | Not only does William Gibson have a new book out, but the Vancouver Writers Fest has also arranged for him to sit down and talk about it with Marsha Lederman (Globe and Mail) at The Stanley this Sunday night. Amazingly, there are still a few tickets left. From Vancouver Writers festival: “Agency, the newest novel from this visionary author, turns the lens of the future to our precarious present, offering a sweeping reimagining of an alternative, exhilarating political world. In discussion with Vancouver’s own indomitable and eloquent Marsha Lederman, Western Arts Correspondent for The Globe and Mail, this is an event which will appeal to fiction lovers and political philosophers alike.” This will be a good one, folks. Grab tickets ($15-$50) while you still can. Find out more.

ART | There’s a mapping theme threaded through the Vancouver art scene this week. Shuvinai Ashoona: Mapping Worlds is on at the Vancouver Art Gallery (details); ‘Mapping Movement’ is the Family Day theme at The Contemporary Art Gallery on Saturday (details); and VIVO Media Arts is offering a super-cool 2-day ‘Projection Mapping Workshop’ that teaches participants to map videos onto any surface (details). Love maps, in every iteration. Something for everyone.

HOPWIRED | Like coffee? Enjoy beer? Fantastic news! This weekend brings an exciting opportunity to see the two worlds come together at Hopwired Festival. Grab a few pals and head to the Croatian Cultural Centre to tour table after booth of small scale breweries and independent coffee roasters; taste their wares, talk to them about what they are doing and — the super cool part — taste their collaborative small batch, coffee-inspired beers. Tickets here.

LEARN | Time to take your knowledge of truffles up a notch! The fourth annual Truffle Festival goes down this weekend and the Truffle Association of British Columbia has organized two events to be open to the public. Hustle out to UBC Farm to get acquainted with native BC truffles; learn the basics of truffle cultivation; get cooking tips from a panel of truffle experts; you can even get schooled on how to find the tricky little devils by watching canine experts give a demonstration in the UBC Truffle Orchard, or snag a spots in the extremely rare opportunity to tag along on a three-hour-long truffle foraging expedition!  Find out more.