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. You can also check it out in the Globe & Mail, from our calendar to theirs…and yours!

EXPLORE | The Museum of Vancouver opens a new exhibition this week. Rewilding Vancouver will do it’s best (using everything from taxidermy specimens and clever dioramas to video installations and soundscapes) to get us thinking about ways in which we (as humans and Vancouverites) shape nature (as well as the ways in which nature shapes us). This show is curated by author J.B. MacKinnon (The Once and Future World; co-author of The 100-Mile Diet). Oh, and extra bonus: there will be a cash bar at Wednesday’s opening reception (there is something about a drink in a museum feels just the right amount of mischievous ). Rewilding Vancouver runs Thursday, February 27 through to September 1.
Wed, Feb 26 | 7pm | Museum of Vancouver (1100 Chestnut)| $15 | DETAILS

GRAPES | Wine Fest is on! The theme region for the 36th Annual Vancouver International Wine Festival is France and the ‘global focus’ is bubbly. Head down to the Vancouver Convention Centre to taste some of the best in local and international wines on the market. All told, you can expect close to 1,750 wines produced by 178 wineries from 14 countries. That’s a whole lot of awesome! While many events are already sold out, you can still snag tickets to a few of the larger tasting events if you get moving. Not only is Wine Fest a grand and informative time, it also raises money for Bard on the Beach. Cheers if you dig Shakespeare!
Now through Sunday, March 2 | Vancouver Conference Centre 1055 Canada Place | DETAILS

ART | As a fan of mini-anything and urban landscapes, I’m really looking froward to checking out Jessie McNeil’s show at the Gam Gallery this week. Imagine the adorable ‘Miniature Land’ style applied to city scenes like empty lots, orange plastic fence protected trees and dusty alleyways. Great, right? From The Gam Gallery: “The sculptures in Wish You Were Here! seek to preserve a moment in time. The dioramas included in the exhibition are of places found within Vancouver’s rapidly developing and re-developing landscape documented by the artist and made into miniature form. The resulting work depicts scenes that may or may not still exist, standing as a record of the continuously changing cityscape. ” The opening reception for Wish You Were Here takes place this Friday night at 7:30pm.
Feb 28 – March 21 | 7:30 – 11pm | Gam Gallery (110 E Hastings St @Columbia) | DETAILS

DARK WONDERS | Head over to the garage behind Le Marché St. George this weekend to check out the “Seeking Dark Wonders” Studio Sale. Expect to find House of Hudson Jewellery, amazing photographs by Klee Larsen, beautiful pressings by Jon Yurechko, Mark Hall-Patch illustrations, sublime pottery by Janaki Larsen and paintings by Ronald T Crawford and Patricia Larsen. The crew at Le Marché St. George know what they’re doing when they pull together an event like this. Count on quality craftsmanship and simple, interesting design.
March 1 & 2 | 11-6pm | Le Marché St. George (4393 St. George) | DETAILS

PREPARE | With spring comes gardening, and nothing makes a garden happier than a healthy dose of poo. But where can one get hooked up with some quality dung? It just so happens that the annual manure sale is happening up at VanDusen Botanical Gardens this weekend, so head over to VanDusen’s driveway off of Oak Street and load up (Seriously – “Red Label Top Soil from high grade organics and Brown Label Manure, an essential organic mix which will simulate and multiply the natural organisms of your soil”). This is a first come, first serve set up, so don’t be lazy about it. This is some seriously opportunistic shit, so get on it! $5 for a 20L bag.
Sat, Mar. 1 | 10am-3pm | VanDusen Botanical Garden (5251 Oak Street | DETAILS

JAZZ | Wynton Marsalis is in town with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra. Scoop up some ticket and head to The Chan Centre to hear the orchestra perform a little Thelonious Monk, and Herbie Hancock as well as some Joe Henderson, Jackie McLean, Lee Morgan. Some world class Jazz seems like a good way to kick off March!
Saturday, March 1 | 8pm | Chan Shun Concert Hall (6265 Crescent Road) | DETAILS

CULTURE | Vancouver Opera’s Don Giovanni hits the stage this week. This version of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s opera has been co-produced with The Banff Centre and will employ all manner of cutting edge stage technology and design to bring to life the story of story of a charming scoundrel aristocrat known for his unprincipled and numerous conquests. From Vancouver Opera: “Defying both society and God in his reckless pursuit of gratification, he manages to evade the vengeful retribution of his most outraged victims, only to self-destruct in a surreal encounter with a curse-hurling stone statue.” This show, performed in Italian with english subtitles, runs March 1 and then again from March 6-9.
Sat, March 1 | 7:30pm | Queen Elizabeth Theatre (630 Hamilton St) | $70-$200 | DETAILS

GINNOVATION | Check it out! Vancouver has a gin appreciation society! If that delightful little bit of information just made your day, you’ll be extra excited to learn that they’re having a gin tasting event at Strathcona’s Russian Hall this Saturday afternoon. Distillers from Seattle Distilling Co., Victoria Spirits, Long Table Distillery, Odd Society Spirits, Captive Spirits, Bluewater Distilling, Pemberton Distillery, Yukon Shine and Yaletown Distillery will be pouring tastes of their craft spirits. Awesome stuff. There’s just one catch. Because we live in a city of wonky bylaws and silly rules, you’ll have to purchase a membership to the society in advance of this event. It’s not complicated, a $40 fee gets you a Vancouver (and Seattle) Gin Society Membership for a year (membership includes half-price tastings and free punch/cocktail events).
Sat, March 1 | 2-5pm | The Russian Hall (600 Campbell St) | DETAILS

FRESH AIR | Snow may have melted in the city but the mountains are nicely loaded with fluffy white fun. This is a perfect week to get your ass up a hill for some fresh air. Seymour Mountain offers a Twilight Tour (every Saturday at 4pm) that includes an experienced snowshoe guide (not to take home, just for use on the trails), snowshoe rental and trail pass as well as a post-tour mug of hot apple cider.
Sat, March 1 | 4pm | Mount Seymour (1700 Mount Seymour Rd., North Van) | DETAILS

WINTER FARMERS MARKET | Stay strong, take your vitamins, and eat well by loading the fridge with fresh, local food. Shoot over to 30th and Ontario to get your fill of fruits and veggies. Look for kale, crispy apples, leeks, beets, potatoes and squash, as well as goodies like baked goods, preserves and local honey. Yay farmers!
Sat, Feb 22 | 10am – 2pm | East Parking Lot Nat Bailey Stadium | DETAILS

Check the Globe & Mail every Thursday for our Special Weekend Edition of the Scout List

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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 shops and streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy, and uncooperative camera.

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