Coco Montrese to Headline 'Delicious' Southern Decadence Shows

Southern Decadence, the largest annual LGBT street fair in New Orleans, is about to become a little more delicious. During this year’s celebration, which runs from August 28 to September 2, the Bourbon Orleans Hotel is organizing a series of shows called Deliciously Decadent, which features performances by drag queens of local as well as international fame.

The series kicks off on Friday, August 30 with a masquerade cocktail show headlined by Mercedes L’Oreal and Blanche Debris, whose drag name pays homage to the doomed heroine of Tennessee William’s seminal play, A Streetcar Named Desire, which took place in NOLA.

The next night will feature la crème de la femme: Coco Montrese, known as former Miss Gay America and the spirited rival of Alyssa Edwards on RuPaul’s Drag Race Season 5. Montrese will serve up a fabulous show, as the historic hotel serves up dinner and cocktails to guests. The follow morning, Montrese will also host a Sunday brunch, preceding the weekend’s famous parade.

Montrese, who regularly performs as Rihanna and Janet Jackson at Frank Marino’s Divas Las Vegas spectacle at The Quad, retweeted the New Orleans hotel earlier this week: “We're so excited to have @CocoMontrese here during #SouthernDecadence August 31 & Sept 1!”

Centered in the historic French Quarter of New Orleans, Southern Decadence, known as “Gay Mardi Gras,” can attract up to 300,000 people, according to the event’s official website. Every year, the celebration adopts a new theme. In 2013, the theme is “Live, Laugh, Love.” For more information on the Southern Decadence, the Bourbon Orleans Hotel, and its Deliciously Decadent lineup, visit the venue’s website.