GREGORIAN CHANTS AND HIP HOP Monotony won’t be an issue at Clerestory’s concert Saturday, as the nine-piece male vocal ensemble will present works ranging “from Gregorian chant and classic lullabies, to contemporary pieces.” The Bay Area group’s show, the last of its 12th season, is called “Dream States: Songs of Daring and Whimsy,” and aims to explore human consciousness. Tickets are $5-$25. Saturday, March 17, 8 p.m., David Brower Center, 2150 Allston Way. Meanwhile, a very different kind of Bay Area music will be on display a few blocks away at Cornerstone, 2367 Shattuck Ave., where rapper Andre Nickatina, who became a local hip-hop mainstay in the 1990s, has a show. It’s sold out, but Cornerstone facilitates a “scalper-free” ticket exchange online.
SEED SWAP One garden, please, and make it to go. Berkeley’s Ecology Center promises seed-swap participants can “take home a whole new garden.” At the 19th annual event, hosted by Bay Area Seed Interchange Library, all kinds of plant seeds will be up for grabs, and permaculture and seed law experts will be speaking. Those who bring seeds to swap and a potluck dish get in free. Otherwise, there’s a $5-$20 suggested donation. The swap is Friday, March 16, 7-9 p.m., Ecology Center, 2530 San Pablo Ave., and volunteers can help sort leftover seeds at a pizza party Saturday, 12-3 p.m.
WEAVING PAST AND PRESENT If you’ve flown out of SFO — or made it down to Los Altos de Chiapas, Mexico — you may have caught a glimpse of the textiles woven by the Mayan artisan women’s cooperative Jolom Mayaetik. The democratically-run group has a mission of empowering indigenous women, hence the exhibit “Empowering Threads” in the airport’s international terminal. Now, not only jet-setters can see their colorful garments, which blend new and ancient designs. Visitors to Talavera Ceramics on Saturday can catch some of the cooperative members in action, demonstrating their work on the traditional backstrap loom. Saturday, Match 17, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Talavera, 1801 University Ave.
EDUCATIONAL EGG HUNT BYOB (Bring Your Own Basket) to Eggster’s annual Easter egg hunt and “learning festival” Saturday. The event is hosted by a UC Berkeley student group at the Campanile and is free and open to the public. There will be educational booths and activities for kids who tire of egg-hunting — or need to get out of the mud (rain is forecasted). Saturday, March 17, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Campanile Esplanade, UC Berkeley.
DANIEL MALLORY ORTBERG Daniel Mallory Ortberg is known for having a sharp literary wit, first read by many on The Toast, the publication Ortberg co-founded. Ortberg’s first, popular book, Text From Jane Eyre, imagined the iMessages friends might have received from classic characters. Now he has just published The Merry Spinster: Tales of Everyday Horror, reimagining “traditional children’s stories and fairy tales with elements of psychological horror, emotional clarity, and a keen sense of feminist mischief.” The author will be speaking and reading from the book Friday night at Pegasus downtown. In an interview with The Cut currently making the rounds, Ortberg describes his thoughts around coming out as transgender, and his decision to do so before this book tour. Friday, March 16, 7:30 p.m., Pegasus, 2349 Shattuck Ave.
Don’t miss these other events covered on Berkeleyside:
New Latin American music from Bululú and very old (new) Sephardic music from Kat Parra
Big Screen Berkeley: ‘The Leisure Seeker’ and ‘Oh Lucy!’