LGBTQ Festivals & Events
New Orleans has it all – legendary nightlife, fantastic restaurants, a dramatic arts scene, 24-hour-a day bars and the chance to dress up in outrageous costumes any time of year. Altogether, it’s the perfect setting for the liveliest of gay cultures. The LGBTQ community takes the spotlight at festivals all year long, with Southern Decadence over Labor Day weekend attracting more than 125,000 revelers to what’s come to be known as Gay Mardi Gras. Parades, costumes, drag shows and themed parties abound during Decadence, then again they’re a part of the city’s Pride Fest, Mardi Gras, Halloween festivities and even Easter, where the Gay Easter Parade is one of three in the French Quarter. The Saints and Sinners Literary Festival takes a more studied approach, bringing the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex literati together for three days of inspired musings. The preference in New Orleans is always to celebrate diversity; whatever your interest, there is a LGBTQ festival for it. Here is a list:
Featured LGBTQ Festivals Not to Miss
New Orleans Pride
Every June, New Orleans come together to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community in the form of a festival, street parade, and lots of fun.
Southern Decadence
What began as a simple going-away party in 1972 has evolved into one of New Orleans’ premier annual events: Southern Decadence. Held annually over Labor Day weekend, this celebration of LGBT culture has…
New Orleans Black Pride
New Orleans Black Pride celebrates the intersection of Black and Queer people. Enjoy a free street…
Saints and Sinners Literary Festival
The Saints and Sinners Literary Festival was founded in 2003 as a new initiative designed as an…
Mardi Gras Bourbon Street Awards
It has been called “the most famous drag-queen contest in America” and it has been going…
Halloween New Orleans (HNO)
The witches and the queens and the ghosts and the goblins come out for Halloween New Orleans for a…