Jeudi

Isaac may have slowed Decadence/Dykeadence merry makers down a bit, but he won’t rain on their 38th annual parade. The most decadent group of people in the world are starting a couple days behind, but the festival has a weekend jam packed with performances, street parties, and of course, a big parade on Sunday. NoDef caught up with Dykeadence organizer and Queerlesque! Director Ace Falcor, and she said there’s no reason for queer commuters to cancel their trip to New Orleans on account of a few downed branches.

“We’re really starting tonight, there are two events. One at House of Blues in the Quarter, so it’s fine. They have power.” Grrl Spot will be taking over the HOB, bringing God-Des and She, an openly queer hip-hop, pop duo whose music focuses LGBTQ empowerment and social change. Also performing is the drag-king troupe, the New Orleans Carnival Kings, along with the local DJ Gage. 

Down on St. Claude, check out Queerlesque! with Deep Lez at the Allways Lounge. The bar will be running on a generator, but that won’t stop anyone. “We’re still super psyched to strip, all of the performers are in,” Falcor said. Falcor is also thrilled to bring Deep Lez into the mix, a performer/activist that focuses on social change, especially relating to LGBTQ issues as well as size acceptance. Falcor said Deep Lez fits in with the overall message of Dykeadence.

“Dykeadence is more political than Decadence generally—we have a lot of fun stuff about challenging people’s ideas of what gender is,” Falcor included. The politics will be mixed into a whole lot of fun, and Falcor expects a crowd and said everyone is “ready to let loose.” Just down the street from the Allways at the Healing Center’s Café Istanbul, Ass Menagerie, the “Prince of Perversion Ball,” is beginning at 9pm. $10 donation recommended.

Even though the first two days were a wash, Falcor said there’s no reason to cancel plans to drive down to NOLA for the big event. “If you come in Saturday morning, you will have a costume party, a bounce party, Sunday you’ll have a parade and Grrl Spot, then you have Drag Queeraoke on Monday,” Falcor said. “It’s totally worth it, a full weekend of New Orleans style awesome.” You can find a full list of Dykeadence events here.