Eugene Weekly : Calendar : 04.21.05

David Sedaris is carrying around a list of accolades to make any hopeful satirist-playwright-essayist-radio-commentater blanch. Two Grammy nominations for Best Spoken Word Album and Best Comedy Album; a "Humorist of the Year" title from Time in 2001; the Thurber Prize for American Humor; and a host of bestsellers, including Me Talk Pretty One Day, which went straight to the top of the charts upon its release. He and his sister, Amy Sedaris (from Comedy Central's hysterical Strangers With Candy) collaborate on plays under the apt name "The Talent Family." But ultimately, when many people think of David Sedaris, they think of one key thing: He used to be an elf. A Macy's elf, in green tights. It was Sedaris' "SantaLand Diaries," read on NPR's "Morning Edition" and set on the page in both Barrel Fever and Holidays on Ice, that introduced the world to the wry, eloquent voice of the former New York City house-cleaner. Sedaris' most recent book is Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim, and an anthology he edited, Children Playing Before a Statue of Hercules: An Anthology of Outstanding Stories, is due out in April. Somehow, he's found the time to turn up at the Hult Center this weekend. And did we mention he's incredibly funny? See Friday Calendar.

Oratrix Productions' Write Off Tour lands in Sam Bond's on Monday. Five touring artists and two local headliners — poets, performance artists, philosophers, storytellers and musicians all — will take the stage for passionate, poetic and political performances. Two of the performers are co-owners of Oratrix Productions; three are involved with Bent, the Seattle Queer Writing Institute. SoulChilde, the lone male on the tour, appeared at last year's Vancouver Folk Music Festival and Vancouver International Hip Hop Film Festival. Local headliner Marietta Bonaventure should be a familiar name to the spoken word fans in town: A "poetry activist," she runs the Eugene Poetry Slam, promoting spoken word as a means of empowerment. With such diverse voices sharing their experiences, this should be a striking (not to mention entertaining) night. See Monday Calendar.

For three decades, Ashton "Family Man" Barrett has been involved in popular Jamaican music as a producer and as a performer. In 1965, Family Man and his brother Carlton, who played homemade instruments, put together their first band, The Hippy Boys. Four years later The Hippy Boys became The Upsetters and had a massive hit in England with "Return of Django." After a British tour and an appearance on "Top of the Pops," The Upsetters returned to Jamaica, where they were personally summoned by Bob Marley. It wasn't long before the brothers Carlton were taken into The Wailers' fold. Catch a Fire and Burnin' were recorded with the original Wailers vocal trio of Marley, Peter Tosh and Bunny Wailer; after Tosh and Wailer left, the group was referred to as Bob Marley and The Wailers. Family Man, who embraced the Rastafarian way of life at an early age (he selected his precocious nickname in his teens), continues The Wailers tradition today, performing classic and new reggae. The Wailers play the McDonald Theatre with opening act deSol. See Monday Calendar.

Spring has sprung, the clouds have finally parted for a bit, and it's time for the third annual Nearby Nature Egg Walk. Join costumed creatures Bella Butterfly, Frannie Frog and Myrtle Mallard as they share fun facts, tell stories, and answer questions on special trail hikes in Alton Baker Park. From baby insects from the park pond to the Oregon Herpetological Society's live reptiles and amphibians, the Egg Walk celebrates the "eggs-traordinary" array of creatures who hatch from eggs. See Saturday Calendar.