Worries about the potential exposure and spread of monkey pox have organizers of the Bourbon Street Extravaganza concert during Southern Decadence canceling the event.
This would’ve been the first time since the pandemic the concert was set for a return with upwards of 20,000 visitors expected for the September 3rd event.
The event was called off by tavern owner and Decadence co-founder Chuck Robinson. The cancelation comes amid the rapid spread of the disease and its effects on gay and bisexual men. The virus is spread by prolonged skin contact.
“Believe me, I struggled with this,” Robinson told the Times-Picayune/New Orleans Advocate. “After COVID settled down, I thought we could do this safely. And then a month ago monkey pox jumps up in my face and became part of the formula I had to consider. It’s frightening. I had to make a decision about what’s best for my staff and the community and visitors. I had to make a decision for the benefit and safety of everyone concerned.”
Southern Decadence is a gay Mardi Gras, one of the largest and longest running events among the LGBTQ Community. For fifty years the event has taken place in the French Quarter over the Labor Day weekend.
Over 225,000 attendees came for the 2019 iteration of the festivities.
“Monkey pox has grown...as we speak,” Robinson said. “And here we are less than two weeks away, headed to 300,000 people.”
Southern Decadence posted a monkey pox warning on its webpage. Part of it reads: “Condoms will not prevent it. Avoid close, intimate or sexual contact with anyone that has a rash or flu-like symptoms. The CDC has recommended limiting sexual partners until two weeks after the second dose of the monkey pox vaccine.”
Other events planned for Southern Decadence are still taking place as planned.
