Marcy
Marcell
shudders
thinking
about
what
might
have
happened
if
Hurricane
Katrina
arrived
in
New
Orleans
just
seven
days
later.
“If
that
storm
would’ve
been
one
week
later,
it
would’ve
been
all
those
people
from
around
the
world
here
and
it
would’ve
been
three
times
worse,
if
you
can
imagine
that,”
said
Marcell,
noting
the
estimated
100,000
people,
mostly
gay
men,
who
flock
to
New
Orleans
each
Labor
Day
weekend
for
Southern
Decadence,
commonly
dubbed
the
gay
Mardi
Gras.
Katrina
blew
ashore
Aug.
29,
2005.
While
Southern
Decadence
was
canceled — except
for
about
a
dozen
renegade
partiers
who
marched
through
the
French
Quarter
exactly
one
week
after
the
storm — and
many
gay
residents
were
forced
to
flee
their
homes,
New
Orleans’
gay
neighborhoods
miraculously
dodged
much
of
the
devastation.
The
catastrophic
hurricane
bruised
homes
and
businesses
located
in
high-lying
neighborhoods
like
the
French
Quarter,
Bywater
and
Uptown,
but
those
heavily
gay
areas
were
spared
the
flooding
that
transformed
most
of
New
Orleans.
“All
the
touristy
things
are
100
percent
intact,
but
half
the
city
is
still
desolate,”
said
Roberts
Batson,
a
longtime
gay
rights
activist
and
historian
in
New
Orleans.
“Gay
people
are
really
taking
the
lead
in
coming
back
to
New
Orleans.”
Batson
grabbed
the
last
seat
on
one
of
the
last
three
flights
out
of
the
city
before
Katrina
hit,
then
returned
three
weeks
later
to
find
his
1840s
home
outside
the
French
Quarter
still
standing,
the
padlock
on
his
door
cut
off
by
a
military
crew
searching
for
dead
bodies.
“I
didn’t
lose
my
house
and
I
was
very
fortunate
in
many
ways,
but
it’s
still
very
difficult
and
very
sad,”
Batson
said.
“We
all
cry
at
the
drop
of
a
hat — that’s
how
emotions
are,
and
that’s
going
to
happen
for
a
long
time.
Batson
reflected
on
his
fear
of
returning
home
and
finding
that
his
10
years
worth
of
research
on
New
Orleans’s
gay
history
was
destroyed
by
floodwater
or
fire,
but
paused
in
the
middle
of
his
story
to
fight
back
tears.
“I’m
sorry — it
still
happens,”
he
said.
“I
was
so
grateful
the
house
was
here
and
the
things
I
value
were
OK.
But
it’s
not
over — we’ll
always
have
these
emotional
scars.”
Gay
party
returns
Batson
and
other
gay
residents
are
preparing
to
apply
some
New
Orleans-style
ointment
on
those
scars,
as
Southern
Decadence
returns
to
town
Aug.
30
through
Sept.
4.
A
group
of
friends
who
Batson
affectionately
calls
“leftover
hippies”
started
the
annual
event
in
1972
by
throwing
a
costume
party,
and
inviting
everyone
to
come
as
their
“favorite
Southern
Decadent.”
To
garner
more
attention
for
their
elaborate
outfits,
the
costumed
group
walked
to
the
French
Quarter
in
1975,
laying
the
foundation
for
what
would
become
an
annual
string
of
parties,
booze
and,
yes,
decadence.
The
loss
of
Southern
Decadence
last
year
compounded
the
difficult
circumstances
for
gay
businesses
damaged
during
Katrina.
“It
became
for
our
bars
and
many
of
our
gay
retail
businesses
their
top
draw
financially
for
the
year,
so
it’s
very
important
to
see
it
return,”
Batson
said.
The
round-the-clock
buffet
of
parties
that
comprise
Southern
Decadence
will
be
fully
stocked
this
year,
with
entertainers
like
Inaya
Day,
Pepper
Mashay
and
native
DJ
Joe
Gauthreaux
looking
to
bring
the
beat
back
to
New
Orleans.
Some
gay
groups
are
also
looking
to
add
high
culture
and
historical
perspective
to
the
annual
revelry
by
launching
DecaFest,
which
occurs
simultaneously
to
Southern
Decadence.
“We’re
not
in
competition
with
Decadence,
we’re
not
trying
to
change
Decadence,
we’re
just
trying
to
add
to
it,”
said
Batson,
one
of
the
organizers
of
DecaFest,
which
features
a
half-dozen
themed
historical
tours,
symposiums
and
the
New
Orleans
gay
and
lesbian
film
festival,
which
was
also
canceled
last
year.
DecaFest
also
unveils
“Love,
Bourbon
Street:
A
Celebration
of
Gay
New
Orleans,”
a
new
anthology
from
Alyson
Books
that
features
gay
and
lesbian
writers
reflecting
on
New
Orleans,
both
before
and
after
Hurricane
Katrina.
One
of
the
headline
events
will
be
an
airing
of
“Icons:
The
Lesbian
&
Gay
History
of
the
World,
Vol.
1,”
with
a
discussion
with
the
show’s
star,
Jade
Esteban
Estrada,
following
the
screening.
From
now
on,
Southern
Decadence
and
the
anniversary
of
Katrina
will
fall
within
days
of
each
other,
and
some
say
it’s
emotionally
turbulent
planning
such
a
big
party
while
also
marking
the
storm’s
milestone.
“It’s
shaping
up
to
be
fabulous,
but
of
course
it
can
be
very
hard
sometimes
too,”
said
Marcell,
who
is
a
manager
at
the
bar
Le
Roundup,
one
of
the
first
gay
businesses
to
reopen
in
New
Orleans
post-Katrina.
“We
really
need
it.
We
need
it — we
need
the
...
