Eugene Weekly : Calendar : 10.27.05

Davy Rothbart (above) is the creator of Found magazine, a treasure trove of items stumbled upon and sent in for publication. The magazine's website (www.foundmagazine.com)says, "We collect FOUND stuff: love letters, birthday cards, kids' homework, to-do lists, ticket stubs, poetry on napkins, telephone bills, doodles — anything that gives a glimpse into someone else's life." It's hard not to wonder if Rothbart was inspired by these glimpses when writing his first story collection, The Lone Surfer of Montana, Kansas. The detailed, evocative shorts are full of slightly off-kilter characters, from the titular surfer to the young man in love with the daughter of a Mexican prostitute. Rothbart's characters are flawed, messy and always moving, always going somewhere, always looking for something else. Rothbart appears this weekend at Sam Bond's to share Found gems and read from Lone Surfer; his brother Peter accompanies him on the tour, playing songs based on Found stuff. Bringing found finds to share is encouraged. See Friday Calendar.

This one's for the young'uns, or the not so young'uns who have fond memories of trying to breathe while laughing at Jon Sciezska and Lane Smith's 1993 Caldecott Honor book, The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales. The book's musical adaptation — slightly changed in title to The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fair(l)y (Stoopid) Tales — is a goofy production in which actors slip in and out of costumes and accents, changing characters on the go as they run through such tales as "The REALLY Ugly Duckling" and "Cinderumplestiltskin or the Girl Who Really Blew It." Theater-goers are encouraged to come in fairy-tale themed costumes and join in trick-or-treating through the Hult Center after the show. Books "signed" by the malodorous Cheese Man himself will also be available, with story time at 9:45 am, before the show. Bring a can of food for FOOD for Lane County for a free soft drink. It's a whole morning of stinky entertainment! See Saturday Calendar.

TLCC's Fall Collage Dance Concert brings together several local dance groups, Roseburg's Traduza dance, and the talents of UO and LCC students and faculty for two nights of dance from across the spectrum. Traduza Dance Company (above) presents Amazon Awakening, accompanied by live drumming and Uakti; Dance Theatre of Oregon presents a musical collage, Grandiloquence Undone, in three sections. The ZAPP Dancers perform to A Perfect Circle's "Counting Bodies Like Sheep to the Rhythm of the War Drums," and Rita Honka of the UO faculty choreographed Familiars to the music of Greg Ellis. Sarah Nemecek's piece, What! Okay? Go features three women exploring the idea of the "urban goddess," and UO student Mandy Barba sets a piece to the music of DJ Crush. Bonnie Simoa of the LCC dance faculty collaborates with Walter Kennedy of the UO for one piece, and with UO graduate student Aaron Barnhart for another; LCC dance instructor Cheryl Lemmer's Sweet Disorder is choreographed to music by Sophie B. Hawkins. With such a range of music, performers and choreographers, there's sure to be something to suit nearly every dance admirer's taste. See Friday Calendar.

The hunters have been tromping through the woods, their backs aching, their eyes glued to the ground for signs amidst the detritus. Fungus fanatics, the time has come for the annual Mushroom Festival at Mount Pisgah. From creamy soups to savory dishes, the highlight of the mushroom festival is definitely the fungus-filled food. But it's not all about eating. A large display of 'shrooms of all types (they've got the psychedelic ones under lock and key) and the option to touch as well as look makes this event a fun event for kids and adults. And don't forget the scarecrow contest; this creepy crow (below) was a previous year's entry. See Sunday Calendar.