BizarroCon 2024 will take place in Astoria, the northernmost city on Oregon’s coast. Astoria is 100 miles from Portland and contains a very walkable downtown. Most BizarroCon venues will be within hundreds of feet of The Norblad, one of our recommended hotels.

Astoria was founded in 1811 but this particular rainy corner of the Northern Oregon Coast was already densely populated. For thousands of years, the Clatsop and Chinook people had been managing cross country and international trade from this region with its bountiful fisheries, treacherous water and endless rivers that led deep into the interior of what is now Canada and the Central United States.

Astoria seemed pretty promising back in the early nineteenth century. It was on all the maps. It was up and coming. But…

The Columbia River is a dead end and there is no Northwest Passage, Astoria was surrendered to the British, sold to the US, then burned to the ground twice in the early 20th Century. The fur trade collapsed, the timber industry tapered off, the fishing industry collapsed. It’s not a railroad town. It’s not a port town. It’s not a shipping town, a fishing town, a mill town, a tourist town or a beach town.

The North Coast is a place of failure and compromise, misfits, goons, disappointments and outcasts. Dark. Moody. Cold. But full of culture, historic buildings, art studios, bookstores, breweries and cafes.

Where to Eat and Drink

All recommendations are located in historic downtown Astoria. Many of these locations are mere steps from the suggested con hotels. Check business listings for current hours and menus.

Breakfast+Coffee
Blue Scorcher Bakery & Cafe
Broder Strand
Sleeper
Rusty Cup
Astoria Coffee House + Bistro
Labor Temple

Lunch/Dinner+Drinks
Fort George Brewery
Astoria Brewing Co.
Breakside Brewing
Dead Man’s Isle
Xanadu
Knot Bar at Bowline
Merry Time
Inferno Lounge
Carruthers
South Bay Wild
Gaetano’s Market & Deli
Bowpicker
Surf 2 Soul
Busu
Coastal Smash
Drina Daisy Bosnian Restaurant

Drinks
Bridge & Tunnel
Brut Wine Bar
Blaylock’s Whiskey Bar
Pilot House Distilling