October 17, 2026

What is Your Legacy? A Collage Workshop with Marne Lucas of the Bar

Create a beautiful, personal collage to explore your life’s path or a loved one’s legacy with Marne Lucas, a multidisciplinary artist and death doula working at the intersection of art, science, and health. Lucas explores creativity as a form of spiritual care in collaborations with terminally ill artists to establish their legacy. All materials are provided. All ages welcome.

Free, requested RSVP at astoriavisualarts.org

noon, Astoria Visual Arts, Astoria

October 17, 2026

Ancestors in Training - A meditation on end-of-life and what comes

Join Astoria Visual Arts for a guided meditation focused on cultivating mindfulness and awareness of our mortality with end-of-life doula, Dardinelle Troen. Participants 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. The primary purpose of these practices is to face our own mortality, similar to traditional meditation, intended to enhance our appreciation for the richness of everyday life. 45 minutes seated meditation.

Free, requested RSVP at astoriavisualarts.org

This event is supported by a Public Programs Grant from Oregon Humanities.

11:00 a.m., Astoria Visual Arts, Astoria

October 17, 2026

Saturday Scoundrels

What is a conversation?

This question follows our first Wit & Wisdom of the year, where John Nygaard and Seth Tichenor revisited a conversation they first presented in 2019 about what conversation asks of us, and what gets harder when the world around us grows more divided.

For Scoundrels, we’re looking at the foundation of the question. What actually makes something a conversation?

10:00 a.m., The Catalyst, Astoria

October 18, 2026

Write Your Own Obituary with Katherine Annala

Writing your own obituary can be an illuminating exercise in exploring who you are and what you want the world to know about your life. Participants will explore their legacy and how to put it into words. Learn the different types of obituaries and the basics of obituary writing with Katherine Annala, a doctor of acupuncture based in Portland, Oregon with a focus on aging adults and women’s health. Writing utensils provided, if preferred, please bring a laptop.

RSVP requested at astoriavisualarts.org

noon, Astoria Visual Arts, Astoria

October 24, 2026

Saturday Scoundrels

Why is ritual important?

Birthdays. Funerals. Holidays. Handshakes. Morning coffee. Religious observance. Stadium chants. Humans keep inventing things to do again and again in really specific ways.

What does ritual accomplish that an ordinary action does not? Does repetition change us? Can ritual connect people, preserve memory, mark change, or outlive its usefulness?

Join Scoundrels for a conversation about why humans keep returning to ritual.

10:00 a.m., The Catalyst, Astoria