Southern Decadence (English version)

The glitter gods don’t appear only on Mardi Gras. Over Labor Day weekend, the French Quarter becomes a glorious playground of love and creativity with Southern Decadence, Aug. 29 to Sept. 2 this year.
One of the biggest events in the city, Decadence brings the LGBTQ community and its supporters together for a weekend of parties, bar hops and special events, highlighted by the Grand Marshals walking parade on Sunday afternoon.
How popular is it? Southern Decadence 2018 attracted approximately 250,000 attendees, according to Tony Leggio, who was one of Grand Marshals in 2016.
“When I was Grand Marshal, I spent most of my time thanking people for coming out,” Leggio said. “Everyone was so nice.”
The event has grown from what was originally a bar crawl/going-away party hosted by a group of friends in 1972. They themed the fete, inspired by the DuBois sisters’ Belle Reve plantation of “A Streetcar Named Desire” fame, the “Southern Decadence Party: Come as Your Favorite Southern Decadent.” 
Decadence proved popular in the city (when has it not?) and in 2019, organizers continue with event traditions and welcome the sprawling number of new events that have grown up around it.

The 48th annual celebration's theme is “Fruit Salad: Come Toss a Good Time.” The themes change each year, as do the Grand Marshals. For 2019, Grand Marshals 45 are Countess C Alice and Will Antill. (The Grand Marshal number and the event year don’t correspond because Grand Marshals weren’t chosen until the third year of the event, and the Grand Marshals for the years 2005 and 2008, when Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav affected the city, were Grand Marshals for the following years.)
Being a Grand Marshal is an honor in the LGBTQ community, Leggio said. And with that honor comes a big responsibility: Each year, the Grand Marshals oversee raising money for the event to happen, with any surplus going to a charity. This year’s beneficiary is Odyssey House Louisiana, a nonprofit behavioral health care provider with an emphasis on addiction treatment.
The official kick-off for Southern Decadence is Thursday night with a Welcome Party/“Battle of the Bulge” contest at Bourbon Pub/Parade, where most of the official Southern Decadence events happen. Others take place at venues that aren’t known as traditional gay bars: Bearracuda, a dance party for “bears” (gay slang used to often describe a larger, hairier man), is at One Eyed Jacks on Friday night and is already sold out.

With new Grand Marshals also come new official colors and theme song. This year’s hues diverge from the norm — polka dots and pinstripes — in consideration of Grand Marshal Antill’s color blindness. The theme song is “Push Groove” by Instamatic. The Grand Marshals, who are given whistles, blow them entering a bar during the Sunday parade to cue the DJ to put the song on announcing their and their entourages' arrival.
Stops include gay bars Oz, Bourbon Pub/Parade, Napoleon’s Itch, and Lafitte’s in Exile, reminders of the event’s origin as a bar crawl. The song will most definitely be played at the Golden Lantern, the official home of Southern Decadence and where the Grand Marshals parade starts at 2 p.m. Sunday. The parade, which winds through the French Quarter, occasionally diverges from its official route but remains somewhat true to course.
To get a sneak peek of what’s to come with the parade, head to the Friendly Bar about an hour or so before it starts, to see the Grand Marshals and their entourages put the final touches on their costumes. “It’s a free, hidden event,” Leggio said.

Origins

The event traces its beginnings to August 1972, as an end-of-summer party among a group of 40–50 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. 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 would have complete control over the parade of incredible characters and costumes as they marched through the French Quarter.

Decadence, as it is commonly known by participants, is marked by parades, bead tossing, street parties and dance parties. In these ways it resembles New Orleans Mardi Gras, however, Southern Decadence tends to be more sexual in tone and is generally geared towards more upscale and mature revelers. Decadence crowds in the Quarter typically match or exceed Mardi Gras crowds. Most events take place in or around the French Quarter neighbourhood centered at the intersection of Bourbon and St. Ann streets.
Themes were presented on and off from the beginning, but 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." The official colors were Royal Blue and Canary Yellow.

Opposition

In years past, religious and conservative groups have rallied against the festival. In 2003 there was a formal petition filed to have the event terminated, with video footage handed over to officials depicting dozens of men engaged in "public sex acts". There were examples of men exposing themselves to others for beads, similar to the way women have long exposed their breasts for the traditional Mardi Gras balcony bead toss. The complaints led to a vocal response from business owners and hoteliers in New Orleans, in support of the festival. Ultimately the police posted notices clarifying what constitutes public sex. The pastor who spearheaded, videotaped, and filed the petition, Grant Storms was arrested in February 2011 after being caught masturbating in a public park. He was convicted of obscenity on August 22, 2012.
The city later passed an ordinance that effectively banned the dissemination of any social, political, or religious message on Bourbon Street from sunrise to sunset, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $500 fine. City Councilwoman Kristin Palmer, who sponsored the ordinance, said the city "has a legitimate interest in protecting residents and visitors in the highly trafficked area of Bourbon Street at night. She said aggressive solicitation can be a crowd-control issue, and people are allowed under the law to speak their messages if they take five steps off Bourbon Street. This is really an issue of trying to protect public safety."
Once again the freedom of speech and freedom of religion, were acknowledged for the people's of America.
Guaranteeing the event goers could continue to gather annually for (all) interested parties.
Although the party goes may become raucous, and the supposed protesters may be zealous in speech, liberty prevailed for each attendee.