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…

GLUTTONY

Revolver Coffee opens in Gastown! As Andrew wrote the other day, “it’s a coffee fetishist’s wet dream set to open later this week at 325 Cambie across from Meat & Bread. The space sees some 20-25 seats that look to be suspended from a high ceiling along a wall decorated with world maps made by hand (great job Ricky) using steel and copper-coloured nails.” Check out photos and details here.

It’s Perogy Night in Vancouver! Join the crowd gathering at the Holy Trinity Ukrainian Orthodox Cathedral off of Main St. and load your plate up with old-school dumplings handmade by church volunteers. A “regular dinner” consisting of 6 perogies, 2 cabbage rolls, sauerkraut or salad and Ukrainian sausage costs just $12. If you’re looking for something a little lighter, borscht served with rye bread is only $3.50.
Friday, September 2 | 5-8pm | Holy Trinity Ukrainian Cathedral | 154 E 10th | $3.50 – $15

“Pit Masters & Pour Masters” has it going on summer BBQ style on the terrace at the Waldorf Hotel. Street cart gooders Re-Up are doing some slow smoked chicken, ribs and pork and Tantalus Vineyards will be there to make sure you wash everything back right and proper.
Sunday, September 4 | 4-10:30pm | Waldorf Hotel | $20

Westside trattoria La Buca is throwing a winemakers dinner Sunday night and it sounds mind-blowingly good. Italian powerhouse wine maker Marchesi di Grésy (known for producing some the most elegant wines from the Piedmont region in Italy) will be in town to hang with chef Andrey Durbach and our guess is that the result will be well worth the $175 price tag and the trek to the wilds of upper Point Grey. I know, $175 beans is a small fortune, but dig this: fillet of halibut served with fresh corn, chanterelles, cauliflower, crab, and chives paired with of 2005 Langhe Grésy Chardonnay DOC and a little 2010 La Serra Moscato d’asti DOCG with your Pannacotta with moscato poached blueberries; and that’s only two selections from the six course feast. Plus, Andrey Durbach!
Sunday, September 4 | La Buca (4025 MacDonald) | $175

There is a movie-themed bake sale happening on Sunday. NO idea what that will look like. Insert your funny sounding cupcake and cookie names here.

Sunday, September 4| 1pm-4pm | Creekside Community Recreation Centre (1 Athletes Way)

ART

There will be a neighbourhood art studio and ad hoc gallery called Free Space Studio set up for action at Napier and Victoria over the weekend. Caroline and Brodie, two artists and community builders, have opened the doors to their super cool airstream creative capsule so that any passersby can pop in to make something. Nothing like a mid-afternoon spontaneous craft session, amirite?
Saturday September 4, Sunday, September 5 | Napier and Victoria | Free

There’s a Surrealism Salon going down at the VAG, and it’s such great Salon that they had to split it into two parts. Part 1: Surrealism and Science takes place Tuesday. Randy Lee Cutler (Associate Professor at Emily Carr University) and Dominic Lopes (Professor of Philosophy at the UBC) examine the influence of new technologies on Surrealists’ production and the place of science in their intellectual movement. Part 2: Surrealism and Psychoanalysis with Clint Burnham (poetry, fiction and critical theory writer) and Andrew Feldmár (internationally renowned psychotherapist). The pair talk about the psychoanalytic theories of Freud and how they have fed the inspiration and interest of the Surrealists.
Tuesday, September 6 | 7pm | Vancouver Art Gallery | Free with admission (19.50)
Thursday, September 8 | 2pm | Vancouver Art Gallery | Free with admission (19.50)

Grunt Gallery is gearing up to show Rebecca Chaperon’s latest gathering of sweet yet dark paintings, entitled Like a Great Black Fire. In this series, an elongated and detailed landscape stretches across canvases populated by foreboding, black, geometric forms and meticulously rendered figures. Her current paintings portray the narrative of a female protagonist within a surreal landscape. Her subject matter ranges from ethereal and dream-like to darkly humorous; she often deals with the feminine perspective from an autobiographical point of view. The show runs September 8 – October 15.
Opening reception | Thursday, September 8 | 7-11pm | Grunt Gallery ()

MUSIC

The Victory Square Block Party takes place on Sunday night and I defy you to find a better use of your time. Dig this: free sets by Sun Wizard, Hot Panda, B-Lines, Men At Adventure, My Friend Wallis, Peace and Bleating Hearts. Throw in some  Blood Diamonds, Teen Daze and Glory Days, plus some comedy sets by Pump Trolley, Rip Rip Roar and Papa Electric, and you’re set! If you need an excuse, it’s all for a good cause. All proceeds from the raffle (a raffle!) and sponsorship go towards Megaphone Magazine (a local street-issues magazine sold by homeless and low income vendors as a source of income). More info here.
Sunday, September 4 | 2-9pm | Free

The Kills are in town. Dreamy and feverish, hooky and repetitive, obsessive and claustrophobic – those are the words used to describe the band’s latest album “Blood Pressures”. Sounds like a pretty good use of a Monday night if you ask me. More.
Monday, September 5 | Commodore Ballroom | Doors 8pm, Show 9:15 |

Dudes! Elenor Friedberger is planning to swing by Zulu Records to perform a few cuts from her latest solo effort Last Summer. She’s in town opening for The Kills but lucky Vancouverites can catch her solo with her acoustic guitar in Kits. Show up early because space is limited.
Monday, Spetember 5 | 4pm | Zulu Records (1972 West 4) | Free

Needles and Pins are playing with Fist City and Korean Gut at Antisocial.
Friday, September 2 | 8 pm | Antisocial (2337 Main) | Free

Local band Lost Hombre play at the St. James Hall next Friday night. They have a new CD coming out (13 Songs for a Beautiful Ghost) and much of the set will come from this new album. Clear the schedule, grab some friends. It’s gonna be a good night in Kits.  More here.
Friday, September 9 | Doors 8pm, Music 9pm | St. James Hall (3214 W 10)

FILM

Quadrophenia is on at the Rio! “Based on the 1973 rock opera album of the same name by The Who, this is the story of 60’s teenager Jimmy. At work he slaves in a dead-end job. While after, he shops for tailored suits and rides his scooter as part of the London Mod scene.” Fun times.
Friday, September 2 | 11:55pm | The Rio Theatre (1660 E Broadway) | $8 ($6 in costume)

Vancity Theatre is screening Beauty Day. “Years before YouTube and Jackass, Ontario hoser Ralph Zavadi, aka Cap’n Video, pioneered the art of the DIY pratfall for the delectation of local cable viewers. He won a wider fan base the hard way, breaking his neck on camera when a high dive stunt went very badly wrong (he was saved by the neighbour’s curious kid, who called in the EMS). Mixing plentiful clips of Cap’n Video’s crazier antics with Zavadi’s wry and candid reminiscences as he contemplates life beyond those 15 minutes of fame and embarks on a 20th Anniversary Comeback Special, this doc delves deeper than you might expect, giving us a pretty good idea of what might drive a man to snort raw eggs, toboggan off a rooftop, or climb into a washing machine.”
Saturday, September 3 | 8:30pm | Vancity Theatre (1181 Seymour)| $11

Here in Strathcona they’re showing Andrei Tarkovsky’s film Stalker. Never heard of it? It’s right behind you! Pfft. Here is a little bit of Wiki for you: “1979 science fiction film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky, with a screenplay written by Boris and Arkady Strugatsky, loosely based on their novel Roadside Picnic. It depicts an expedition led by the Stalker to bring his two clients to a site known as the Zone, which has the supposed potential to fulfil a person’s innermost desires.” But it doesn’t end there. Oh, no. There will also be a live improvised soundtrack by the Eye of Newt Collective and a live performance by Radix Theatre. Get ready to wig out, kids.
Saturday, September 3 | 8 pm | Russian Hall (600 Campbell) | $10

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Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended Bond 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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