Sep 09, 2005  |  By: BO SHELL  | COMMENTS     

Hurricane Katrina caused the official cancellation of the gay Southern Decadence celebration, but a few revelers still left in the city carried on the annual parade tradition.

On Sunday, Sept. 4, several dozen parade-goers celebrated the day that would have otherwise drawn a crowd of more than 100,000. Southern Decadence is one of the top five tourist attractions with the greatest economic impact to the city, according to the event’s Web site.

During the makeshift parade, Johnny White’s Sports Bar was the only French Quarter bar open, according to employee Larry Hirst.

“This bar has never closed in 14 years, so there were people in here while the hurricane was blowing over,” Hirst said. “During this storm the French Quarter came out virtually unscathed in relation to what’s all around us. We’re high and dry.”

Hirst said Tuesday that the local bar was packed with customers and that the tradition of New Orleans will continue, even through times of tragedy.

“The spirit of New Orleans will never die,” he said. “People will come back, we’ll rebuild this city… and we’ll be better than ever.”

Katrina couldn’t stop Rip Naquin-Delain from celebrating Southern Decadence either — even though he was far away from New Orleans . Naquin-Delain, who operates www.southerndecadence.com, organized an unofficial “Southern Decadence in Exile” celebration dubbed “ Floatin' Floozies” Wednesday in Lafayette .

“We were contacted by a lot of our friends that are staying in the Morgan city areas, Lake Charles, Lafayette and Baton Rouge area and they all wanted to get together since we missed Decadence,” Naquin-Delain said the morning of the event.

“It’s going to be more like Southern Decadence was in the beginning, with a bunch of friends getting together and we’re going between the two bars in Lafayette,” he said.

Naquin-Delain said he was unable to contact the two grand marshals slated to appear at the official event, but hoped they could attend. He was unsure how many people would participate at press time.

‘Lack of judgment’?
The defiant Southern Decadence celebrations drew criticism from some groups who oppose gay rights.

The “idea that human beings are continuing to party while hundreds of thousands of fellow citizens are starving, dying and suffering from a multitude of sicknesses brings into focus the real lack of judgment these constant advocates of special gay rights demonstrate in times of crisis,” wrote “ex-gay” James Hartline on World Net Daily, a conservative news source.

But Naquin-Delain, a New Orleans resident for the past 20 years, said there’s no harm in the celebration.

“I know that there’s been a lot of destruction and death. The thing is, life goes on and we want to celebrate who we are and Southern Decadence has always been something for and by the people,” he said. “It’s always been a celebrating of life, music and culture, and since we’re all here and there’s nothing going on, I don’t see any harm in holding it.”

‘We need you’
Southern Decadence isn’t the only gay event that changed plans after Katrina. The National GLBT Business Convention, presented by Echelon Magazine, originally scheduled for Oct. 21-Nov. 1 at the Park Plaza Hotel in New Orleans , was moved to the Wyndham Anatole in Dallas , Texas .

"We really wanted to hang on to New Orleans despite the hurricane to the point that it was still promoted in our Tuesday [Aug. 30] newsletter that it would be in New Orleans,” said Michael Lamb, Echelon magazine publisher. “After we heard that 80 percent of the city was under water, we pretty much had no choice but to move the convention.”

Lamb said he was unable to reach New Orleans city officials before deciding to move the convention, but he doubted the city would be able to welcome visitors by the convention date.

“I think we’re doing them a service at this point,” Lamb said. “I’m sure they’re not looking to bring in people to the city as they’re evacuating practically most of the residents.”

But New Orleans will need gay tourists when the city is reconstructed, said Brian Sands, who has lived in the French Quarter for 17 years. Sands evacuated the night before Katrina hit, traveling to Montgomery, Ala., to stay with friends, and has since made the trek to Atlanta.

With a background in retail sales, Sands said he is optimistic about the city’s future.

“From what I’ve heard the French Quarter ...