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Photos: A Funeral Home Held A Delightfully Morbid 'Hearse And Reptile' Show
The 2nd Annual Hearse & Reptile Show went down this weekend in Azusa, showing off a number of classic cars, spooky gifts and a whole lot of snakes and lizards.
A hearse and reptile show is an unexpected event, and it's made weirder yet by the fact that it takes place at an actual funeral home. White's Funeral Home in Azusa puts on the annual party, and they consider it to be a celebration of life, where revelers come together for a tongue-in-cheek night of all things dark and deadly.
We arrived just as things were kicking off, and were pleased to see a number of hearses and vintage ambulances already lining the streets around the funeral home. There was a cream hearse decorated in homage to Disneyland's Haunted Mansion, a coach complete with a full bar, and even an old cop car repurposed to fight zombies.
Inside the funeral home, there were several spiders, snakes, lizards—plus a few frogs and scorpions. Members of the Southwestern Herpetologist's Society were present with their favorite scaly friends. It's hard to see what Indiana Jones was so worked up about when you see people casually strolling around with their snake buddies calmly coiled around their shoulders.
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Outside, there was a small Kid's Corner with some ghoulish carnival games, and a bar where you could get domestic and craft beer to sip while watching the bands. We saw Rhythm Coffin—a band of ghouls that obviously played "Monster Mash"—and Monte Revolta & His Band of the Living Dead. Revolta is kind of a sleazy lounge singer, who possibly lacks a heartbeat. The audience watched them from a row of pews while munching on bacon-wrapped hot dogs from a nearby booth. Other performers included band Karling & The Kadavers, and the hearses were blessed by LGBT activist group The Sister of Perpetual Indulgence.
Vendors also sold grisly treats like cupcakes shaped like body parts, gothic jewelry, taxidermy art and clothes. There was also a very well-positioned insurance booth. What better way to advertise life insurance than at a funeral home?
And because White's Funeral Home believes in celebrating life, even while dancing around death, there was a large chalkboard wall where guests could write down what things they wanted to do before they died. Some, like writing a novel or marrying your sweetheart, seemed realistic. Others, like growing wings and kissing Beyoncé, are maybe not so much. But hey, you never know.
White's Funeral Home also hosts a Day of the Dead celebration. And if you can't get enough of spooky events, even in the summer, Pasadena is hosting theannual ScareLA horror convention this upcoming weekend.
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