If you’re planning on celebrating Southern Decadence, make sure you stop by the Ace Hotel for CAKE, their 4-day Decadence bonanza.
The event will span August 30 - September 3, and will provide “dynamic, inclusive, thought-provoking and radical decadence events.”
Each night the hotel will offer up something different.
Things kick off on Thursday at 9 p.m. with “HARD | soft, a black women-centered fetish ball that creates space for all femmes during Southern Decadence Festival.” All celebrating female sexuality, Flamboyant, Ms. Boogie, Marcelline, and Edgeslayer will provide music for the night. This event is free, but it’s recommended that you RSVP online to guarantee entry.
On Friday the 31st, the night begins at 10 p.m. with Crescendo. Crescendo will be a night of music that focuses on black and brown queer and trans identities and “strives to create a safe space for Femme identified folx and folx of Femme expression.” The night’s musical performances will include DJ RiMarkable, Cakes da Killa, DJ Pr_ck, and Lord Chilla. This event costs $8 in advance / $10 at the door, but is free to hotel guests.
On Saturday at 3 p.m., Jesse Ray Guillory hosts “Intersection Freedom: The Liminal Space of Femme Identity in a Social Media World.” This is a monthly talk that discusses the question: What is one’s relationship to freedom when you exist in the paradoxical space of privilege and marginalization? A large roster of guest speakers will be tackling the topics of intersectional identity, colorism, black mysticism, and gender politics. Interdisciplinary artist Jamal T. Lewis (Fat Femme) and artist/writer Keni Anwar will lead the event and honor the femme bodies of color who have historically stood at the forefront of our revolutions and embodied what it means to stand in one’s freedom.
Also on Saturday at 6 p.m., Big Queer Pod Fest is your chance to share and discover queer podcasts with game shows, interviews, special guests, and “a live taping of all sorts of shenanigans.” Jeffrey Masters of LGBTQ&A and Fran Tirado of Food 4 Thot will host this event. Surprise guests will be revealed, and all proceeds go towards the Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund.
The last event on Saturday starts at 10 p.m. and provides you the opportunity to unwind and dance. House of Kenzo is a collective that’s “dedicated to fearless expression in order to help realize awareness with movement and supports the overall art scene by organizing dance classes, workshops, competitive dance environments, lectures, conceptual performances and dance parties that sustain the ever growing creative community.” New Orleans’s own DJ Edgeslayer will open for the Club Athletes. Also enjoy Horse Meat Disco, a traveling dance party series and TRAX Only DJ collective. Horse Meat Disco is a ticketed event, so get your tickets today by clicking here.
Sunday the 2nd kicks off at 1 p.m. with “Hoodrat to Headwrap,” a live performance of the podcast that aims to “game, give, and dismantle white supremacy and kiki in the cosmos somewhere between radical hood epistemological black queer love, ethics, pop culture, house plants and a sea of books.”
Also on Sunday, enjoy “Thrills & Wonders: A Decadent Circus Cabaret,” presented by Nicole Lynn Foxx at 7 and 10 p.m. Thrills & Wonders is a sexy, circus-themed cabaret show series during Southern Decadence featuring some the sexiest drag, burlesque, and sideshow cabaret acts you’ve ever seen. Ray Gunna, Bella Blue, Neon Burgundy, Lucy Stoole, and resident host, Nicole Lynn Foxx, will all be performing. All Sunday events are free and open to the public, but, again, it’s recommended that you RSVP online to guarantee entry.
To wind things down and bring the extravaganza to a conclusion, you’re invited to recoup, relax, and refuel in your room, at the rooftop pool, one of the hotel restaurants, or in the lobby or gallery on Monday the 3rd—the perfect way to enjoy this work holiday.
With so much going on, this Ace Hotel event sounds like the perfect compliment to your Southern Decadence festivities. Why not make Ace your home base? They’re also offering a 20 percent discount on a room for the weekend with the promo code CAKE.
acehotel.com ; (504) 900-1180 - questions ; (504) 941-9191 - reservations