The Scene

Bhaskar Krag is a formerly New York Soho-based artist who took a decade hiatus from the art world—but not art—on Cortes Island. Now, out of the Arc building on Powell St., the Eastside Culture Crawl marked his re-emergence, this time into Vancouver’s scene. Krag claims, “I am a bit of an anachronism in the trendy art world in terms of medium, but not vision. My primary medium is oil on linen.” The New York Times describes his work as “square, heavily impastoed paintings [with] a festive sensuousness."

His paintings evolve like music, he said, one note at a time. "I keep painting until I create a kind of a harmonic that's complete," he told  a reporter in anticipation of the Eastside Culture Crawl, which runs from November 16 to 18. 10,000 people are expected to get a rare glimpse of creativity in motion this weekend, thanks to the culture crawl, as artists open their studios to the public.

The 12^th annual Media Democracy Days Vancouver (MDD) weekend kicks off today beginning at noon with hands-on workshops hosted by The Cinematheque, Redeye of Coop Radio (100.5 FM CFRO) and rabble.ca at the Vancouver Public Library, Central Library (VPL).

“It’s a very exciting and timely lineup this year,” says MDD Organizer Josh Tabish. “You don’t have to look hard to find recent examples of people using media in creative and unexpected ways to unite in the public interest, and that’s reflected in our programming!”

Friday evening, MDD attendees will be treated to a free screening of the feature length documentary Words of Witnessat SFU Woodward’s Djavad Mowafaghian Cinema at 6:30PM. The screening will begin with a talk from noted activist and UBC Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies, Sunera Thobani.

Pumpkin carving is a big part of scary Halloween fun. But, what do you do with the glowing round heads once the freaky holiday is over? Compost them.

"We throw away too much food," said Metro Vancouver communications officer Greg Valou to the Vancouver Observer, pointing out that Canadians waste $27-billion worth of food every year, according to a study by Value Chain Management Centre (VCMC) in Guelph, Ontario. "In our region, compostable food and other organics account for about 40 per cent of the waste in residential garbage. Approximately, a third of the food in the garbage could have been eaten. The rest are scraps and inedible bits."

Choo-choo-chugga-chugga-chugga on the creaky, haunted miniature railway inside the deep dark woods of Vancouver's Stanley Park this weekend for some hair-raising Halloween fun on the Ghost Train.

But, wait.

The Vancouver Observer has just learned that a patch of pumpkins has "mysteriously" appeared near the clattering railroad. The orange heads stick out of the ground calling ghost train riders to "Come and play". Some people say that they can hear strange voices calling out in the deep of the night: "Pick me, pick me, pick me."

Pluck a pumpkin, take it with you for pumpkin carving night (see below for dates) and turn it into a mean-looking Jack O’Lantern or a funny clown face, as you prepare for the night of screams. Pumpkin Patch opens on Thursday, October 18.

What: Opening of the Stanley Park Pumpkin Patch

When: From Thursday October 18, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., unill Halloween.