You're on an actual island
Hayden Island sits in the Columbia between Portland and Vancouver, laced to both by I-5. Walkable options are the hotel, Jantzen Beach Center, and the river — everything else is a bridge crossing. Rideshare or a designated skipper is the move; the Interstate Bridge clots at rush hour, so time your Friday bar runs accordingly.
Oregon liquor law is its own weather system
Spirits come only from state-licensed OLCC stores with short hours (the Jantzen Beach store closes by 7pm and may not open Sunday); grocery stores sell just beer and wine. Buy your room-party rum early. Silver lining: no sales tax, so mug hauls and bottle buys sting less. Washington, one bridge away, sells spirits in supermarkets — but taxes them ferociously.
This is the Tiki Kon torch, carried
Beachcomber Bash was founded in 2024 in Ocean Shores, WA as an explicit tribute after Tiki Kon's Final Voyage — and Year 3 lands at the very Hayden Island riverfront hotel where Tiki Kon convened for years. Expect reunion energy: a small, warm, family-inclusive weekender, not a mega-festival. Come as a good shipmate — shop the vendors, tip the bands.
September in Portland is the good stuff
Expect warm, dry days in the 70s and crisp riverfront evenings in the 50s. Aloha shirt by day, but pack a jacket for the deck at night — the Columbia breeze is real. September is statistically Portland's last golden month.
The best tiki bars are in the 'other' state
Counterintuitive but true from this hotel: Vancouver, WA's Wahi Hana and Coral Club are 5 minutes away, while Portland's Hale Pele and the Alibi run 15–20 minutes south. Do the 'Couve early in the weekend, save the Portland bloodline pilgrimage for a dedicated half day.