the "official" dish...from 24 for their 17th year of revelry. The Ducks, led by Troy Richardson, anticipate well over 450 of their group members will attend the 42nd annual LGBT celebration this year. In addition to various events and parties scheduled throughout the weekend, the Decadent Ducks are putting their numbers to good use by raising money for Food For Friends. The Food For Friends Program of NO/AIDS Task Force has been supplying groceries and home-delivered meals to HIV-infected and -affected individuals in the greater New Orleans area for over 15 years. Prior to landing in New Orleans, Decadent Ducks held a raffle for three free room nights at the Omni Royal Orleans Hotel for Southern Decadence 2013. It doesn t stop there. More raffle tickets will be sold during the Decadent Ducks Original Southern Decadence Welcome Party at the House of Blues (225 Decatur Street open to the public) on Friday, August 30th from 6 to 9pm. In addition to the free room nights at the Omni, there will be two chances to win a round-trip airline ticket, courtesy of Southwest Airlines, and many other prizes. DJ / Producer Julian Marsh will be spinning the tunes at this House of Blues party. Decadent Ducks donates 100% of the proceeds from these raffles to Food For Friends. Last year, the generosity of its membership raised over $3,600, setting a new record for the group. The people of New Orleans have always welcomed us with open arms and treated us like family, Richardson explains. I can t stress enough how important that is, especially in this day and age, when the gay community seems to be under attack so often. That means a lot. We ve been very lucky, and we re really excited to be able to give something back. More than just a travel group, the Decadent Ducks have evolved into a close network of friends from all over the world, and they credit New Orleans for fostering and inspiring their spirit of camaraderie and friendship. Returning members enjoy the occasion to reunite, and new members appreciate the efforts made to welcome them into the group and forge new friendships. Although last year s event was smaller in number (due only to hurricane-related travel complications), those who made it had a great time and the group is looking forward to this year more than ever. There s definitely a greater sense of anticipation this year, Richardson says, with a smile. Those who made it said it was one of the best weekends ever. Once we arrived, the sun came out, the air conditioning had power, and the pool stayed full! We ve expanded and added new events to our schedule, which includes a wine tasting, a streetcar bar crawl and a Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues.We can t wait to get back! To learn more about the Decadent Ducks or Food For Friends, visit the official website at http://www.decadentducksneworleans.com. Ride Your Wacky Wagon & Win a New TV! Yes, you can - and start your Holiday decorating early too. Mark Saturday, September 14 on your calendar for an afternoon of fun and frolic as the Lords of Leather host their Wacky Wagon Race 2013 followed by a fabulous Holiday Decoration Auction at the Phoenix Bar, 941 Elysian Fields Avenue. Race teams will consist of 4 members (one of which MUST be dressed in drag). Each team must use a human-powered (otherwise known as pushed or pulled) vehicle such as a wagon or wheelbarrow, for example, to complete the trek. To register your team, please contact Joey Landry upthehill27@gmail.com or Brock Andersen b.rock504@aol.com. This race begins at Kajun's Pub, 2256 St. Claude Avenue at 1pm. After completing a bar challenge there, the race is on to 4-5 additional bars in the Marigny neighborhood for more challenges. Team members will sell raffle tickets to bar patrons and curious onlookers for a chance to win the grand prize a brand new 40 inch Westinghouse LCD TV. Raffle tickets are $1 each and the winner does NOT have to be present to win. Lords of Leather will contact the winner. The team selling the most raffle tickets wins half the money. This is a great opportunity for a softball or bowling team or another organization to raise funds for their group. After making it to the finish line at the Phoenix, come inside to cool off and look ahead to cooler times as the Lords put up for auction their array of Halloween, Christmas and Mardi Gras themed decorations. Jon Cleary To Headline Old U.S. Mint Sept. 20 Join the Friends of the Cabildo as funk and R&B piano player Jon Cleary, plays his first concert at the Old U.S. Mint s 3rd Floor Performance Space at 7pm Friday, September 20th. Tickets are $30 for general admission and $25 for FOC/LMF member. Seats are limited to 150 people and can be purchased by calling the FOC office at 504.523.3939 or online at www.friendsofthecabildo.org. Tickets are not expected be available the night of the event. Playing the event as a fundraiser for the Friends of the Cabildo (FOC) and the first of five concerts at the Mint for the FOC, Cleary has studied the musical culture and life of New Orleans. Cleary, a native of England, has played with musical greats such as Bonnie Raitt, Taj Mahal and B.B. King. Jon Cleary and the Absolute Monster Gentlemen have played the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival as well as the popular festival Bonnaroo. Cleary will be performing at the Old U.S. Mint as a solo act. Finished in 2012, the 3rd Floor Performance Space at the Old U.S. Mint is a $4- million joint collaboration between the Louisiana State Museum and the National Park Service. The space includes a soundproof performance hall with video and audio recording capabilities as well as a full recording studio. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. and the performance space will open at 6:45pm. Saenger Theatre to Host Free Community Concert Event with LPO The historic Saenger Theatre, slated to reopen this fall, will celebrate its community by hosting a special, free concert event with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra on Wednesday, October 2 at 10am. Free tickets will be distributed to area schools and are also currently available to the general public. In honor of the restoration of the Saenger Theatre, the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra will perform a special program detailing the history of the New Orleans landmark theatre. The orchestra will highlight selections from the famous movies played there, as well as the Broadway productions and artists that have performed on stage since opening in 1927. Our mission is to ensure the Saenger is a venue that touches everyone in our community by creating varied and unique programming, said David Skinner, General Manager, Saenger Theatre. This free concert with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra will ensure that everyone has an opportunity to visit the newly-restored Saenger. We ve programmed this special concert at the Saenger with a high school audience in mind and we are thrilled to be doing a show specifically for these students that we don t always get to reach, said Amanda Wuerstlin, Director of Education and Community Engagement, Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Hosting this series at the newly reopened Saenger Theatre makes this concert even more special for our musicians. Free tickets to the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra community concert at the Saenger Theatre are now available for pickup at the Mahalia Jackson Theatre Box Office at 1419 Basin Street. Tickets are required for entrance to the concert, but seats will be first come, first serve. Doors will open at 9am, with the show beginning at 10am. For more information, visit www.saengernola.com/shows/lpofree. Petronius to Present Vampire Lesbians of Sodom Oct. 24-27 The New Orleans carnival Krewe of Petronius announces plans to produce Charles Busch's Vampire Lesbians of Sodom under the direction of Larry W. Anderson for four special Halloween performances, October 24 to 27 at the Café Istanbul Performance Theatre in the Healing Center at 2372 St Claude Ave. in the Marigny. Each performance will feature an Intermission Contest for the Best Vampire or Zombie costume. Tickets will be $35, with a $5 discount or refund to everyone wearing a costume. Charles Busch's vampire spoof which opened and ran for many seasons beginning in 1984 was for many years the longest-running Off-Broadway non-musical play in theatre history. Written by Busch as a starring vehicle for himself as an established drag queen performer at the time, the play is a spoof of classic movies about vampires and the entertainment industry, with some memorable characters in campy situations over a period spanning over two centuries. Director Larry Anderson has been actively involved with amateur and community theatre for over forty years, having directed and served as Artistic Director at Theatre Marigny for several years in the 1990s. Tickets to the performance will be available from members of the Krewe of Petronius as well the krewe's website, www.kreweofpetronius.org. 26 The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM August 28-September 9, 2013 Official ficial Southern n Decadence Guide SouthernDecadence.COM
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moments in gay new orleans history by Frank Perez E-mail: f.perez@sbcglobal.net A Little Decadence Goes a Long Way In 1972, a handful of college students shared a slave quarters apartment behind a dilapidated house at 2110 Barracks Street in Treme. Near the front door was a sign that read Belle Reve, the name of Blanch DuBois plantation in Tennessee Williams A Streetcar Named Desire. As Labor Day weekend, 1972, approached, the residents of Belle Reve decided to throw a farewell party for their friend, Michael Evers, who was moving away. The party also served as a way to appease a new arrival at the house, Maureen from Manhattan, who constantly complained of the humidity and having nothing to do. The theme of the party was Southern Decadence, and guests were instructed to arrive dressed up as their favorite Southern Decadents. Roughly fifty people (both gay and straight) attended the party. In Rebels, Rubyfruit, and Rhinestones (a landmark book on Southern gayness), Belle Reve resident Frederick Wright is quoted as remembering it was a good party, better than most, but nothing out of the ordinary. Founding member Robert King (now deceased) remembered, I d definitely say it was a contribution to something that got bigger than we ever dreamed it would be. It s all about having a good time. It was good enough for a repeat the following year. This time the Belle Reve revelers decided to inaugurate a parade. The parade began at Johnny Matassa s Grocery and marched back to Belle Reve, all the while dressed up as famous Southern Decadents, including, according to James Sears, Tallulah Bankhead, Belle Watling, and Mary Ann Mobley. For the third party in 1974, they decided to name a Grand Marshal to lead the parade and the honor went to Frederick Wright. Also, the parade route was to include the Golden Lantern, which remains the official headquarters (home) of Southern Decadence. As the parade meandered around the lower Quarter, many people spontaneously joined the procession, including the late, great Ruthie the Duck Lady. In those days, the parade did not have an official route; rather, it snaked its way around the Quarter at the whim of the Grand Marshal. This spontaneity was the source of much of the parade s energy and has created some unforgettable moments over the years. In 1986, Grand Marshal Kathleen Conlon led the parade to the Riverwalk where several drunken revelers jumped in the park fountains, much to the amusement and astonishment of throngs of tourists. The annual celebration grew gradually each year and by 1997, over 50,000 gay people were coming to New Orleans each Labor Day weekend. The New Orleans Metropolitan Convention and Visitors Bureau began tracking Southern Decadence in that year and estimated the economic impact of the event in 1997 at $25 million. By 2003, Southern Decadence was drawing well over 120,000 people to the city with an economic impact of $95 million. In 2010, the numbers had climbed to 130,000 visitors spending over $160 million. In recent years, Southern Decadence has replaced Mardi Gras as the biggest draw in the city for gay tourists. The phenomenal growth of Southern Decadence has had a profound impact on the gay community in New Orleans in ways many people do not realize. More specifically, the success of Southern Decadence demonstrated to the straight business community in New Orleans the spending power of the gay community long before the rest of the country realized that gay people were a powerful economic market with loads of expendable income. The straight beer delivery guys may not like what they see in the gay bars and the straight hotel workers may not like what goes in their rooms over Labor Day weekend, but the beer distributors and hotel operators certainly like the money Southern Decadence puts in their coffers. In this way, greed trumps hate and fosters tolerance, if not acceptance. Many of the tens of thousands of people from out of town who come each year to Southern Decadence may not be familiar with the history and ritual associated with the annual festival. To be named a Southern Decadence Grand Marshal is one of the highest honors in the New Orleans gay community. Grand Marshals are selected by and at the sole discretion of their predecessors. There are no requirements, qualifications or any other criteria necessary for selection. One of the most anticipated events of the year is the Grand Marshal Announcement Party. Excitement and speculation build in the weeks and days following up to the climactic announcement. Sometimes, the choices are predictable, other times they are not. A few weeks after the announcement, the new Grand Marshals host another party, the Press Party, to reveal their theme, colors, song, parade captain and lieutenants. At this event, the official Southern Decadence poster is also unveiled. Soon, this poster will adorn just about every gay bar and business in New Orleans. And then the work begins. In addition to raising money to pay for the parade permit, police detail, and clean-up crews, the Grand Marshals also raise money for charity. In recent years, Southern Decadence has raised money for NO/AIDS Task Force and Belle Reve, which offers transitional housing to those living with HIV. Revelers from around the world begin pouring into the city on the Wednesday and Thursday before Labor Day. Each gay bar has its own special events throughout the obituary Sean Sasser, HIV / AIDS Activist Dies by Frank Perez Sean Sasser, HIV / AIDS activist, died August 7, of mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer. He was 44. Sasser achieved pop fame in 1993 when he and his boyfriend, Pedro Zamora, came out as positive on MTV s The Real World, San Francisco. The two also exchanged vows in a commitment ceremony that aired on the show. Dan Renzi, a cast member on The Real World: Miami wrote of Sean s death at Queerty: Long before Ellen or Will & Grace showcased gay people on TV living mainstream lives, and before the magic of protease inhibitor cocktails turned HIV into a manageable disease, Sasser gave a brave face to both issues and brought those taboo topics to educate millions of young Americans. After Zamora s death in 1994, Sasser became a tireless advocate for HIV/ AIDS awareness. In 1996 he participated in the Human Rights Campaign You ve Got the Power: Vote. Sasser was a fixture in the Portland, Oregon, HIV / AIDS community for years, literally serving as the 2012 poster boy for the Portland AIDS Walk. Sasser is survived by his partner, Michael Kaplan, who runs AIDS United, a non profit group in Washington, D.C. weekend. The highlight of the festival is the Southern Decadence Parade on Sunday afternoon. By noon, the Golden Lantern is brimming with party-goers and the corner of Royal and Barracks Streets is congested with even more revelers. Most are in costume, many in drag while others wear next to nothing at all. Spirits are high, as are blood alcohol levels. Around 2pm, the Grand Marshals and their attendants arrive with great fanfare. Once in position, the whistle is blown and the drunken, surrealistic procession begins. In addition to being one of the largest gay celebrations in the world, Southern Decadence is a truly unique New Orleans phenomenon. This article is dedicated to the former Grand Marshals who are no longer with us: SDGM II Jerome Williams 1975, SDGM V Robert King 1978, SDGM X Don Ezell 1982, SDGM XI Danny Wilson 1983, SDGM XVI Jerome Lebo 1988, SDGM XVII George Goode 1989, SDGM XVIII Ruby 1990, SDGM XX Rhee 1992, SDGM XXI Ms. Fly 1993, SDGM XXII Alain 1994, SDGM XXVI Robin Malta 1998, SDGM XXVIII Thom Smurf Murphy 2000, and SDGM XXXII Donald Donnie Jager Jay James 2004. 30 The Official Mag: AmbushMag.COM August 28-September 9, 2013 Official ficial Southern n Decadence Guide SouthernDecadence.COM
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