Thailand’s ‘Death Fest’ invites visitors to embrace mortality

NONTHABURI, Thailand (AP) — Thailand's “Death Fest” invites people to confront mortality while also offering practical services and spiritual advice for the inevitable.

The unusual fair, now in its second year, has broached the subject that's uncomfortable for many. It's also one of the central teachings of Buddhism, which shapes much of Thailand's culture, about life’s unavoidable sufferings: birth, old age, sickness and death.

Sangduan Ngamvinijaroon attended the three-day event Friday with her mother in Nonthaburi province near Bangkok. She said death used to be a difficult subject for her family, but having spent more than 20 years caring for ill family members, including her husband with a stroke and relatives with cancer, she has witnessed several deaths firsthand and now feels more at ease talking about it.

She said she liked the fair because “it’s not just about dying well. It’s also about the present moment and taking good care of our lives while we’re still here.”

The event brought together experts and organizations involved in health care, financial planning, palliative care, funeral services and memorial innovations. Activities and talks focused not only on preparing for death but also on maintaining quality of life until the final days.

“Death involves everybody. It’s not just about you,” said Zcongklod Bangyikhan, editor-in-chief of The Cloud magazine and one of the event’s lead organizers. “Instead of wondering what dying will be like, maybe we should think about how to make things easier for the people who remain after we’re gone.”

One popular exhibit is called “Test Die.” Visitors can lie inside coffins of different sizes and styles while looking at themselves in a mirror suspended above. The experience is designed to prompt reflection rather than fear.

Office worker Phinutda Seehad said it felt calming.

“I don’t think I’m scared of death,” she said. “I also don’t want to die, but when the time comes, I don’t think it will be that frightening.”

One company displayed a biodegradable coffin made from mycelium — the rootlike fibers of fungi — which helps naturally with decomposition.

Founder Jirawan Kumsao said the design reflects a more environmentally friendly approach to burial. Although she brought a human-sized coffin to the event, her company mainly produces coffins for pets.

“It gives people comfort to know they’ve cared for their pets until the very end,” she said. “It looks like a spacecraft, a capsule, for sending them to another world.”

Noppasaward Panyajaray, founder of the online memorial platform Sharesouls, has seen a similar emotional bond. Her service allows users to store photos and share stories about loved ones, creating a digital space where friends and family can leave messages and pay their respects.

She said her original idea was for the platform to preserve memories of family members. But she was surprised to find that many users were creating memorial pages for their pets.

“Many people sent me a message to say thank you, because nowadays we don’t really have any space to store stories or memories about their pets,” she said. “Every pet is meaningful to their owners as much as a family member.”

Visitors tour Death Fest in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Kittinun Rodsupan)

A visitor poses for a photo sitting in a coffin at Death Fest in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Kittinun Rodsupan)

A Visitor lies inside a coffin made of mycelium, the rootlike fibers of fungi, at Death Fest in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Kittinun Rodsupan)

A visitor tries out a coffin at Death Fest in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Kittinun Rodsupan)

A visitor tries out a coffin at Death Fest in Nonthaburi, Thailand, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Kittinun Rodsupan)

TORONTO (AP) — Toronto Maple Leafs captain Auston Matthews has a torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee and will miss the rest of the NHL season.

The team provided an injury update Friday night, a little under 24 hours since Matthews was knocked out of a game against Anaheim on a knee-on-knee hit from Radko Gudas.

The Leafs said Matthews has a Grade 3 MCL tear and a bruised quadriceps muscle and would be evaluated again in two weeks. Gudas was suspended five games for kneeing, the maximum the league's Department of Safety could levy because his hearing was by phone.

In game, Gudas was given a major penalty and ejected.

“Dirty play,” Maple Leafs coach Craig Berube said Thursday night. “League’s going to obviously look at it and see what the suspension will be or whatever happens.”

Trying to make a move around Gudas in the slot in the second period of Toronto’s 6-4 victory, Matthews stook a direct blow to his left leg and crashed to the ice. The U.S. Olympic captain stayed down before being helped to the locker room.

Gudas is the bruising Czech defender who ended Canadian captain Sidney Crosby’s Olympics in the quarterfinals with a hit.

“He’s done a few of those before in his career,” Toronto winger Matthew Knies said.

Gudas was asked following Anaheim’s morning skate about trying to contain Matthews.

“We go to be on top of him,” Gudas said. “We got to make sure that he doesn’t get space in the middle of the ice … make his night’s not enjoyable.”

Ducks coach Joel Quenneville defended his player.

“There’s no premeditation,” Quenneville said. “Reflexes did it.”

Matthews snapped a 12-game goal drought earlier in the period on a power play. He had 27 goals and 26 assists in 60 games this season.

AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl

Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews, center, is helped off the ice after being injured by Anaheim Ducks Radko Gudas during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews (34) and Anaheim Ducks Radko Gudas (7) lay on the ice after colliding during second period NHL hockey action in Toronto on Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews (34) is helped off the ice after being injured by Anaheim Ducks Radko Gudas during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews, left, is injured by Anaheim Ducks Radko Gudas during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

Toronto Maple Leafs Auston Matthews (34) is injured by Anaheim Ducks Radko Gudas (7) during the second period of an NHL hockey game in Toronto, Thursday, March 12, 2026. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)