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 December 11 to December 17, 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.

BEWARE | You might want to take a little extra care around the ladders and black cats this Friday because it’s Friday the 13th. The superstitious date occurs once every 212.35 days, and the 13th of any month is marginally more likely to be a Friday than any other day of the week. We suggest riding it out with a can of counteractive “Lucky” lager in a quiet corner of your safe home. If, on the other hand, you don’t believe in any of that silly superstitious bullshit, you could swing by The Rio for a freaky screening of Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives. Advance tickets $13 (here) or $13 at the door. Find out more.

DRAW | Interested in a less dramatic way to spend the 13th? Local artistic Neil Wedman will be leading a Drink & Draw workshop at Mobil Art School on Friday night. Why not hit the subterranean art space for a cold beer or a glass of wine and do some scribbling? Drink & Draw tends to sell out, so scoop your seat while you still can. Find out more.

BOOK IT | Local writer Darcy Van Poelgeest is releasing a new collection of his Little Bird comic series at Massy Books this weekend. The book is illustrated by internationally acclaimed artist Ian Bertram, and is described as a combination of Star Wars and A Handmaid’s Tale, about “a young resistance fighter battling against an oppressive American Empire while searching for her own identity in a world on fire.” Intrigued? See you at the Chinatown book shop on Saturday evening for the launch (and probably a post-launch cocktail at the Keefer). Find out more.

MESSIAH | Handel’s Messiah takes the stage at the Orpheum this Saturday night. The Vancouver Bach Choir will perform with members of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and as well as a handful of soloists (a lot of bodies are required to properly pull off the The Messiah). There isn’t too much more that you need to know about it other than it’s going to be awesome, in the truest sense of that overused word. Tickets are still available! Find out more.

CRAFT | Nikkei National Museum & Cultural Centre presents the Nikkei Holiday Boutique this weekend. Hustle your way to Burnaby to check out everything from jewellery and jam to ceramics and textiles. Shopping at Nikkei supports Japanese-inspired local craftspeople, and Japanese-Canadian artisans. Don’t miss breakfast with Santa at 10am (tickets required). Find out more.

SHOP | Get yourself down to The Pie Shoppe this weekend for the Cardamom Pop-Up Shop, a three-day event that brings together some really great items produced by talented artisans from here and there. Pick up one-of-a-kind ceramics, beautiful textiles, stunning oracle cards, soaps and vases. Creativity plus chocolate pecan pie, good coffee, and nice people? Any time! Find out more.

SHINY FUZZY MUDDY | Don’t miss out on Shiny Fuzzy Muddy at Heritage Hall on Main Street this week, because this will be your last Shiny Fuzzy Muddy chance – EVER! This fair has been championing the local handmade movement for 17 years, but 2019 is their last year. Poke your head in to appreciate cool ceramics by Meg Hubert, beautiful minimalist design jewelry by contemporary jewellery designer Kari Woo, stunning textiles by Banquet Workshop — and that’s just a small sampling of the good stuff available. All handmade. All local. Check out the list of vendors here. Thanks Shiny Fuzzy Muddy, you did good! Find out more.

MAKE | Get grounded with a weaving class in Stanley Park this Saturday. From The Stanley Park Ecological Society: “Western red cedars stand as one of the oldest and most revered trees in the forests of Stanley Park. Join us as Contessa Brown Qmdmaxl of the Heiltsuk Nation shares the sacred place of cedar bark in Northwest Indigenous culture and guides us in some foundational weaving techniques.” Learn the basics of how to harvest, clean, beat, and split cedar in preparation for weaving, and then make your own basket. Cedar bark (and light refreshments) provided. Find out more.

EAT LOCAL | Holiday season can be hard. Eat well and stay healthy! Take a trip to one of two Winter Farmer’s Markets this weekend to stock up on provisions to see you through. The Riley Park Market goes down on Saturday, or, if Sunday works better for you, you skip over to the PNE on Sunday. Either way, a farmers market is a great place to score your fruits and veggies (think apples, cranberries, Brussels sprouts, carrots, potatoes and herbs), as well as fresh bread, honey, dried fruits and loads of other goodies. Find out more.

GIG | Feeling the weight of winter? Problem solved: Los Angeles post-pop band, Yacht (Young Americans Challenging High Technology) are in town with a whole whack of bright-sounding music. Skip down to the the Biltmore on Sunday night to hear the trio play tracks from their latest album, Chain Tripping. After a few minutes of this high energy sound you’ll forget about cold, grey rain. You might ever start seeing rainbows! Find out more.