Frame grab from Hot Chocolate festival promo video.
Editor's Note: Globe B.C. has joined forces with Scout Magazine to give you the best of what's happening in Vancouver this weekend. For a full week's worth of listings, head over to the complete Scout List, updated each Monday. See the list in calendar view here.
Chocolate: Did you know a hot chocolate festival is going on at this very moment? Twenty eight of Vancouver's top chocolate makers (and a few bakers and even a gelato maker) have created interesting twists on the classic winter comfort drink. In addition to their regular line-up, East Van Roasters in Gastown will serve Hives for Humanity, a dark drinking chocolate with honey (accompanied by a honey nib caramel). Thomas Haas – with a shop on Broadway and another in North Van – has created The Campfire, which combines hot chocolate with smoky caramel, smoked Hawaiian sea salt and vanilla marshmallows, and Soirette Macarons has developed a hot chocolate called Granville Island Grocery List with beet and saffron and a Gjetost macaron.
Until Feb. 13, cityfood.com
Indie I Do: If you or someone you know is getting hitched in the coming year, do us all a favour and attend the Indie I Do show at Heritage Hall. The show offers a whole new world of possibilities: skip the predictable venue, try vegan cupcakes over traditionally bland wedding cake, factor in a some super8 film, commission cool little letterpress to sort out your invites.
Saturday, Jan. 25, 11 a.m.-5 p.m., Heritage Hall (3102 Main St) indieido.com
Art: The Macaulay Fine Art Gallery is showing The Rope At The End Of The Rope, new works by artist Brad Phillips. From Macaulay Fine Art: "In the main gallery, Phillips' paintings take the subject of objects in his studio and life that relate to painting on a daily basis. Notes to himself, a cornice to burn incense on across from his desk, the flowers next to where he works, and a woman alone on a beach make up the various parts of an ongoing quasi-autobiographical body of work."
Opening reception on Thursday, 6-8 p.m. Until March 1, The Macaulay Fine Art Gallery (293 E 2nd Ave.), mfineart.ca
FUSE: The Vancouver Art Gallery really lets loose every few months. These occasional breaks from the usual civilized gallery behaviour are known as FUSE – evenings of music, live performance, DJs and art. This time, the VAG team will collaborate with the PuSh International Performing Arts Festival to present something a little different. There's something sort of magical about wandering an art gallery after hours, particularly when one is permitted to enjoy a glass of adult refreshment.
Friday, Jan. 24, 8 p.m.–1 a.m., Vancouver Art Gallery (750 Hornby St.), $17, vanartgallery.bc.ca
Heads-up: Canada's Royal Winnipeg Ballet will perform Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre next week. Set to a sublime score by Sergei Prokofiev and executed with precision under the direction of choreographer Rudi van Dantzig, this show will be stunning. And what better way to roll into February than a little bit of love and loss between star-crossed lovers?
Jan. 30-Feb. 1, Queen Elizabeth Theatre, Tickets from $29