Astoria Death Cafe brings together people of all ages to talk openly about death, dying, and what it means to be human as we face life’s biggest transition.

Facilitated by Katherine Annala, DoAM.
October 18, 2026, Sunday, 12pm-2pm, Astoria Visual Arts.
A one hour workshop on writing one’s obituary is an illuminating exercise to learn about our own life and legacy. Materials: if preferred please bring a laptop (paper will be provided.) Writing your own obituary can be a powerful exercise in exploring who you are and what you want the world to know about your life. In this class we will explore what your legacy is and how to put it into words. We will discuss the different types of obituaries, and you will learn the basics of obituary writing.

Join Marne Lucas/Bardo Project for a collage on paper workshop exploring your own or a loved one’s legacy, all materials are provided. Create a beautiful personal collage to explore your life’s path and honor your legacy. Participants may keep their creations.

Join us for an afternoon of guided meditation focused on cultivating mindfulness and awareness of our mortality. We will draw inspiration from Maranasati, or The Nine Contemplations of Death, a Buddhist meditation practice designed to help us confront and overcome our resistance to death and dying.

Join us for an afternoon of guided meditation focused on cultivating mindfulness and awareness of our mortality. We will draw inspiration from Maranasati, or The Nine Contemplations of Death, a Buddhist meditation practice designed to help us confront and overcome our resistance to death and dying.

Astoria Death Cafe brings together people of all ages to talk openly about death, dying, and what it means to be human as we face life’s biggest transition.

Astoria Death Cafe brings together people of all ages to talk openly about death, dying, and what it means to be human as we face life’s biggest transition.

Astoria Death Cafe brings together people of all ages to talk openly about death, dying, and what it means to be human as we face life’s biggest transition.

Here, you can share your thoughts, fears, and experiences about death, grief, and the end of life in a safe and non-judgmental setting.

A community-led conversation on death, grief, and end-of-life

Astoria Death Cafe is a co-generational gathering designed to provide a comfortable, open space for participants to discuss topics related to death, dying, and our end-of-life journeys.

Astoria Death Cafe is a co-generational gathering designed to provide a comfortable, open space for participants to discuss topics related to death, dying, and our end-of-life journeys.

Death Cafe is a co-generational gathering created to provide a comfortable and open space for individuals to discuss topics related to death, dying, and our end-of-life journeys.

The cafe creates a welcoming environment where participants can openly express their thoughts, fears, and experiences surrounding death in a supportive, non-judgmental, and safe setting.

Death Cafe is a co-generational gathering created to provide a comfortable and open space for individuals to discuss topics related to death, dying, and our end-of-life journeys.

The cafe creates a welcoming environment where participants can openly express their thoughts, fears, and experiences surrounding death in a supportive, non-judgmental, and safe setting.

Please RSVP @ Eventbrite

Making Visible the Invisible:
A Community Conversation about Death and Dying

Cafe is a co-generational gathering created to provide a comfortable and open space for individuals to discuss topics related to death, dying, and our end-of-life journeys. It is an opportunity to share and celebrate the human experience of navigating one of the most profound transitions of our lives.

Join us on Sunday, June 29th, from 4:00 to 5:30 PM at Astoria Visual Arts, located at 1000 Duane St. in Astoria.

'Entwined: Legacy and Memories' are immersive art events designed to honor the residents and history of Fairview Training Center, a state institution for people with inetellectual and developmental disabilities that operated from 1908 - 2000, as we acknowledge the twenty-fifth anniversary of its closing.

Death Cafe is a co-generational gathering that aims to create
a comfortable and open space for people to gather and discuss topics related to death, dying, and mortality, and all that it is to be human, navigating the most profound transition of our lives. A Death Cafe offers a space and place for people to be supported, comforted, respected, honored, and most importantly, connected. It provides a platform for individuals to share their thoughts, fears, and experiences surrounding death and dying in a supportive, non-judgmental, and safe environment. Adhering to Death Cafe’s mission, participation is free, although contributions to the Collective are accepted.

Marne Lucas Bardo Project: Oregon
Portland Arts Collective, Portland, Oregon

Around the time of my accident I met Marne Lucas. a multidisciplinary artist, end of life doula and as it turns out my kindred spirit. I participated in Marne Lucas's Bardo Project: Oregon, guiding audience members through a 40-minute death meditation.

Called the Maranasati Sutra, or the Nine Contemplations of Death. It originates from Atisha, an 11th-century Tibetan Buddhist scholar. Over the centuries, countless teachers and practitioners have contributed to this practice. My adaptation is primarily inspired by the works of Roshi Joan Halifax and Alua Arthur.

This exercise provides an opportunity to contemplate the inevitability of death and reflect on what it evokes in each of us individually. Exploring what emotions or feelings are most important, and which ones do you need to let go of to have a calm, peaceful transition. This is a practice one can come back to again and again, like yoga, each time sinking into the areas where one hits resistance.