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Southern Decadence
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Southern Decadence
Southern Decadence is an annual, five-day (Thur - Mon), LGBTQ-based event held in New Orleans, Louisiana during Labor Day weekend, culminating in a parade through the French Quarter on the Sunday before Labor Day.
The event traces its beginnings to August 1972 as an end-of-summer party among a group of 40 to 50 friends both straight and gay. They billed their event as "Southern Decadence Party: Come as Your Favorite Southern Decadent." People who attended were required to dress as their favorite decadent Southerner. Two weeks later, the group threw another party as a farewell to Michael Evers, who left to join his lover David Randolph in Michigan. The first small "walking parade" occurred the following year when the participants first met at Johnny Matassa's Bar in the French Quarter to show off their costumes and then walk back home to Belle Reve, a name taken from A Streetcar Named Desire, in the Tremé neighbourhood via Esplanade Avenue. This first group impersonated people and characters, such as Belle Watling (the prostitute character in Gone with the Wind), Mary Ann Mobley, Tallulah Bankhead, and Helen Keller. The event expanded with Frederick Douglas Wright, an African American, appointed as the first grand marshal by members of the original group in 1974, who had complete control over the parade of characters and costumes as they marched through the French Quarter.
There was no party in 2020.
Decadence, as it is commonly known by participants, is marked by having parades, bead tossing, and having street parties and dance parties. It resembles New Orleans Mardi Gras, but Southern Decadence is sexual in tone. Decadence crowds in the Quarter typically match or exceed Mardi Gras crowds. Most events take place in or around the French Quarter, centered at the intersection of Bourbon and St. Ann streets.
Crowds range from 100,000 to 300,000 revelers from across the world. In 2018, there were over 250,000 participants and the positive economic impact on the City of New Orleans was estimated at over $275 million.
Decadence caters primarily to gay men, but it is lesbian-friendly. Dykes on Bikes and other lesbian groups participate in the annual parade in the French Quarter and GrrlSpot (lesbian party promoter) sponsors a few events for lesbians.
Themes were presented on and off from the beginning, but themes did not become a consistent fixture of the event until "Plagues, Pests, Parasites" theme in 1988. They have been featured every year that the Decadence has been held since then. They have ranged from themes as varied as "Voodoo That You Do", "Menage à Trois", "Ancient Truths, Lies, and Sacrifice", and "Hurricane: This Year, They Blow Back."
The theme for 2018 was "House of Bourbon -- Unleash Your Beast", and the theme for 2019 was “Fruit Salad: Come Toss a Good Time”.
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Southern Decadence
Southern Decadence is an annual, five-day (Thur - Mon), LGBTQ-based event held in New Orleans, Louisiana during Labor Day weekend, culminating in a parade through the French Quarter on the Sunday before Labor Day.
The event traces its beginnings to August 1972 as an end-of-summer party among a group of 40 to 50 friends both straight and gay. They billed their event as "Southern Decadence Party: Come as Your Favorite Southern Decadent." People who attended were required to dress as their favorite decadent Southerner. Two weeks later, the group threw another party as a farewell to Michael Evers, who left to join his lover David Randolph in Michigan. The first small "walking parade" occurred the following year when the participants first met at Johnny Matassa's Bar in the French Quarter to show off their costumes and then walk back home to Belle Reve, a name taken from A Streetcar Named Desire, in the Tremé neighbourhood via Esplanade Avenue. This first group impersonated people and characters, such as Belle Watling (the prostitute character in Gone with the Wind), Mary Ann Mobley, Tallulah Bankhead, and Helen Keller. The event expanded with Frederick Douglas Wright, an African American, appointed as the first grand marshal by members of the original group in 1974, who had complete control over the parade of characters and costumes as they marched through the French Quarter.
There was no party in 2020.
Decadence, as it is commonly known by participants, is marked by having parades, bead tossing, and having street parties and dance parties. It resembles New Orleans Mardi Gras, but Southern Decadence is sexual in tone. Decadence crowds in the Quarter typically match or exceed Mardi Gras crowds. Most events take place in or around the French Quarter, centered at the intersection of Bourbon and St. Ann streets.
Crowds range from 100,000 to 300,000 revelers from across the world. In 2018, there were over 250,000 participants and the positive economic impact on the City of New Orleans was estimated at over $275 million.
Decadence caters primarily to gay men, but it is lesbian-friendly. Dykes on Bikes and other lesbian groups participate in the annual parade in the French Quarter and GrrlSpot (lesbian party promoter) sponsors a few events for lesbians.
Themes were presented on and off from the beginning, but themes did not become a consistent fixture of the event until "Plagues, Pests, Parasites" theme in 1988. They have been featured every year that the Decadence has been held since then. They have ranged from themes as varied as "Voodoo That You Do", "Menage à Trois", "Ancient Truths, Lies, and Sacrifice", and "Hurricane: This Year, They Blow Back."
The theme for 2018 was "House of Bourbon -- Unleash Your Beast", and the theme for 2019 was “Fruit Salad: Come Toss a Good Time”.
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