Like most Great Southern Traditions, Southern Decadence comes with a long history, a colorful reputation, and no small degree of controversy. The week-long New Orleans Labor Day celebration, which has been referred to as the “Gay Mardi Gras,” is celebrating its thirty sixth year, and is one of the city’s largest tourism-related events. Both “official” websites (see controversy below), estimate that last year’s event attracted as many as 120,000 participants (mostly gay men), and had an overall economic impact of almost $100 million. That’s BIG business, and a BIG party!
A Little Bit
of History....
Southern Decadence has come a long way since 1972, when it began, according to official sources and historians, as a combination going-away/get over it party put on by a group of friends who lived, at the time, in a house on Barracks Street, just outside the French Quarter. The “going-away” portion of the party was dedicated to one friend, Michael, who was moving away from New Orleans, and the “get over it” portion of the party was dedicated to another friend, Maureen, who was constantly complaining about the heat of the New Orleans Summers. And trust me. Get over it (or get out) is a great way of describing your options when it comes to living with the heat in New Orleans in the Summer!
The party’s theme, the subsequent parade, and the events that have since come to be associated with Southern Decadence, all seem to have originated with Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.” Even the name, Southern Decadence, was chosen, because party-goers were invited to come as their favorite decadent Southern character. The first party was a great success (at least as described by those who remember it), and so Southern Decadence was born.
Modern Decadence.
The modern iteration of Southern Decadence falls somewhere between an extended circuit party and a mardi gras celebration, with lots of special appearances, performances, dancing boys, porn stars and strippers thrown in for good measure. Decadence gets started (unofficially) on the Wednesday before Labor day (August 28th in 2007), with events at several French Quarter clubs. Thereafter, it’s every man for himself as the parties, events and decadent festivities rev up in true New Orleans Style! You can pretty much find one, or several parties going on throughout the quarter, 24/7, right up until Labor Day Monday night (September 3rd in 2007) when the closing parties signal an end to the annual celebration.
The Controversy.
Anyone who has ever been to Southern Decadence will tell you that while the party itself is always fun, some years have been better than others, at least in terms of the local police and the local (or imported) fundamentalist Christians. Never content to “live and let live,” a wide variety of “Christians” come to Southern Decadence every year to either attempt to convert, harass and/or simply rant at the revelers. Likewise, depending on the political climate at the time, New Orleans police, known for turning a blind eye to the more flamboyant behavior that occurs during Mardi Gras, have been considerably less tolerant at Southern Decadence. It seems that even New Orleans - the City that Care Forgot - has become a target for the intolerant segment of American society. (Can’t these people just go away and get hobbies?!?) The best advice?
Ignore the hecklers, respect the police,
and have fun! It’s a great party, and a
fabulous event.
The “Official”
Guide to
Southern
Decadence.
If you want to check out the schedule
of events for Southern Decadence, you’ll
likely have to do it in two places, because there’s also a bit of controversy over who the “official” promoters of the event actually are. And while that controversy really doesn’t have much to do with the attendees (except, perhaps, to result in more, and better events, because there are competing promoters), it clearly matters to the two parties. As a result, and in order to ensure that you see all the parties, and all the options available, we recommend that you visit both
www.southerndecadence.net and
www.southerndecadence.com.
