Two weeks later, the group threw another party as a farewell to Michael Evers, who left to join his lover David Randolph in Michigan.

The event expanded with Frederick Douglas Wright, an African American,[5] appointed as the first grand marshal [6] by members of the original group in 1974, who had complete control over the parade of characters and costumes as they marched through the French Quarter.

They have ranged from themes as varied as "Voodoo That You Do", "Menage à Trois", "Ancient Truths, Lies, and Sacrifice", and "Hurricane: This Year, They Blow Back.

In 2003, there was a formal petition filed to have the event terminated, with video footage handed over to officials depicting dozens of men engaged in "public sex acts".

Grant Storms, the pastor who spearheaded, videotaped, and filed the petition, was arrested in February 2011 after being caught masturbating in a public park.

[15] The city later passed an ordinance that effectively banned the dissemination of any social, political, or religious message on Bourbon Street from sunset to sunrise, punishable by up to six months in jail and a $500 fine.

She said aggressive solicitation can be a crowd control issue, and people are allowed under the law to speak their messages if they take five steps off Bourbon Street.

Represented by the American Civil Liberties Union during the first round of their case, those arrested saw the law temporarily suspended via a restraining order that was granted by a federal judge.

A 2018 Vice News documentary hosted by Jamali Maddix featured prominent American Christian street preacher Ruben Israel and his Bible Believers group, which publicly protests Southern Decadence.

In 2007, the Bourbon Street Extravaganza,[22] annually hosted by Napoleon's Itch, saw Deborah Cox, Fredrick Ford, Jeanie Tracy and Mat Jordan headline the festival.

As a result of Sunday's parade being cancelled, the 2008 Southern Decadence Grand Marshals, Paloma (Samson Utley) and Tittie Toulouse (Gary Delaune), returned for 2009.