Dear Ambush Nation,
Another Southern Decadence is in the books! Thousands of people came to town to enjoy all that New Orleans has to offer. It was an amazing weekend of parties, special events and just wandering around the French Quarter to take in the sights. As always, the highlight was the Grand Marshals’ parade on Sunday. Flip through this issue of Ambush for picture highlights of all things Southern Decadence.
A huge thank you goes to everyone who made this year’s event a smashing success. That includes all the sponsors of the parade, bartenders, barbacks, waiters, performers and everyone who works in the service industry in and around the French Quarter. I’d also like to give a thank you to Grand Marshals Daryl Dunaway and William Antill who coordinated a summer’s worth of fundraisers and put on an amazing parade. The parade was a collection of members of the LGBTQ community and allies who all came together to produce a spectacular presentation. The costumes, as always, were simply incredible.
We at Ambush would like to express our appreciation to everyone who participated in this year’s festivities. Whether you live here along the Gulf Coast or traveled from afar, we are thankful you came and enjoyed everything Decadence has to offer. We are also thankful for your continued support for our local gay community and businesses. The support of locals and tourists alike allows New Orleans and its events to be so unique. There simply isn’t anything like Southern Decadence! If you didn’t make it this year, fear not, there is always next year!
GAY HALLOWEEN IN NEW ORLEANS
In New Orleans and along the Gulf South, we seem to move from one holiday or celebration to another without much downtime in between. This time of year is no different as the next big event is less than 2 months away, Gay Halloween in New Orleans. Halloween is always a fun time in a city known for voodoo, magic potions and ghosts. We all know it doesn’t have to be Halloween for people to wear costumes in the Big Easy, but Halloween usually brings out more costumes than other holidays. I’ve always enjoyed Halloween in the French Quarter and on Frenchman Street where you can people watch for hours.
This year, Ambush will once again produce the Official Gay Halloween Guide with a full list of parties, events, performers and more! There is always something for everyone in New Orleans during Halloween. And of course, the big event of the weekend is the Halloween New Orleans (HNO) line-up of parties, a fundraiser for Project Lazarus. The HNO Saturday night party this year will be at The Fillmore and the theme is Hallowdays! For more information, you can visit HalloweenNewOrleans.com.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS
The Chevron Walk to End HIV will be held on September 28th at Woldenberg Park along the river next to the Audubon Institute’s Aquarium of the Americas. The walk begins at 10 am and helps to raise awareness of HIV in our community and raise much-needed funds for CrescentCare – NO/AIDS Task Force. There are currently over 3,500 people in our community who receive HIV services from CrescentCare. Entertainment will be provided by DJ/Dance hit artist Synes and the headliner will once again be Big Freedia. For more information go to endhivnola.com.
This year’s Gulf Coast Equality Fest will take place on October 19th from 11 am to 6 pm on The Great Lawn at Harrah’s Gulf Coast located at 280 Beach Blvd, Biloxi, Mississippi. The event has live music, vendors, food and activities for the kids. For more information go to GulfCoastEqualityFest.org.
Winter Wonderland 8 will take place on Sunday, December 1, from 5 to 8 pm at Capulet. The event is an annual fundraiser and this year the charities will be PFLAG New Orleans and St. Anna’s Episcopal Church. The event features live entertainment and several auction items. For more information or to purchase VIP tables, contact Misti Gaither via Facebook.
Southern Decadence 2020 will be here before you know it. Decadence is always celebrated over Labor Day weekend. Next year, those dates fall from September 3rd thru September 7th. For more information, you can go to SouthernDecadence.com.
