Small Farewell Party Transforms Into Huge Gay Celebration

What started as a small costume party held to bid farewell to a friend has blossomed into a huge annual celebration of gay culture that's headed into its 44th year.

More than 100 events are scheduled for Southern Decadence, the annual gay pride festival that started Wednesday and runs through Monday in various bars and clubs throughout metropolitan New Orleans, but primarily in the French Quarter.

"For many years it was just a small party, with mostly locals," said Rip Naquin, one of the organizers and Grand Marshal XLI for this year's celebration. "But, with the advent of the Internet, I guess it was in 1995 when we saw this big influx of people. There were about 25,000 that year. It was amazing and unbelievable. Now, every year, it seems to grow even more."

Last year, about 160,000 people participated in the event, that has an estimated economic impact of about $192 million, he said.

Mike Ploski and his partner of six years, John Corbin, both of Indianapolis, said they're in New Orleans for the good time. "It's good to be able to be free and open and among like-minded, liberal people," Ploski said.

"It's an exciting and extravagant time," Corbin added. "It's decadent."

Kristian Sonnier, a spokesman for the New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau, said hotel occupancy was at 88 percent on Friday, 94 percent on Saturday and 81 percent on Sunday. Those numbers cover 33 hotels and 8,374 rooms, he said.

Wayne Alan and his husband, Matt Zarraga, of Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, said they had the holiday weekend off and they're here to have fun.

"It's an atmosphere that allows us to be free to just be," Alan said.

Luciana Tescari, of Venezuela, and her two friends, Tatiana Varela and Andrea Carvajal, both of Colombia, happened upon the festival unexpectedly.

"We just picked a place to go to that we'd never been before and we chose New Orleans," Tescari said when asked what brought them to the city.

The event includes a float parade, which was held Friday, a walking parade on Sunday, several block parties and outdoor concerts and talent shows and costume contests. Most of the events are free; some held at area businesses may require a cover charge.

This year's theme is "Swimming with the Gods and Goddesses." But because it's usually so hot in New Orleans, most who participate "don't wear a whole lot," Leggio said.

"Body paint is very popular," he said, laughing. "Still you're likely to see a lot of Greek gods or water-themed costumes."

Not everything associated with the festival, however, is just for fun.

So far organizers have raised about $30,000 for charitable groups that support the gay community - the LBGT Plus Archives Project of Louisiana "to preserve the past," the Louisiana Equality Foundation "to preserve the present" and the PFLAG New Orleans Scholarship Fund "to preserve the future," Naquin said.

In addition, the NO-AIDS Task Force, which works to promote safe sex, will be out in force, he said.

Sunday's parade will also include the flag that was at the Supreme Court, when the justices legalized same-sex marriage in June, he said.

"The plaintiffs in that case will walk that flag during the parade," Naquin said. "That is so significant. My partner and I never dreamed that we would see (gay marriage) in our lifetimes. This couldn't have happened at a more appropriate year."

Naquin and his partner, who've been together for 42 years, are the first legally same-sex married couple to reign as grand marshals for the event.

Corbin said having the festival come just a few months after same-sex marriage was legalized was icing on the cake. "It gives us something additional to celebrate," he said. "That's a really big step to acknowledge that our love is no different than any other love. We may demonstrate it a little bit more openly than straight people, but love is love."