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1 16 The Official Mag : AmbushMag.COM July 15-28, 2014 Official ficial Southern n Decadence Guide since 1982 SouthernDecadence.com

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3 under the gaydar by Tony Leggio Photo by: Larry Graham, GrahamStudioOne.COM Save The Date: Empowerment 2014 On July 18, 2014 online registration opens for a very important conference that affects our community. The 21st annual Empowerment Conference has been scheduled for Friday, September 19th at the New Orleans Marriott Convention Center, located at 859 Convention Center Blvd. This year s theme is A Recipe For Success. The hours are 8am to 3:30pm. This free educational conference, designed for consumers and providers, helps to bring the latest information on HIV/AIDS to our community. Every year, Empowerment covers a wide variety of topics related to HIV and AIDS ranging from legal considerations, to medical, social and psychosocial aspects of the disease. One new aspect this year is that select sessions will be approved for Social Work CEUs. To find out more about the conference, go to or call Lisa Breland at , ext. 209 or Major Smith at ext Eat Our For A Cause Just a quick reminder that Dining Out For Life is on Thursday, July 17th. Grab some friends, coworkers or family and enjoy your favorite restaurant for breakfast, lunch or dinner to help the NO/AIDS Task Force. Having a meal at one of the participating establishments helps benefit people affected by HIV/AIDS as a portion of the proceeds will go to the Task Force. Young and the Restless hottie Christian LeBlanc and local celebrity foodie Poppy Tooker serve as chairs for this year s event. I especially love going to places that do fun themes like Louisiana Pizza Kitchen Uptown who I understand is doing a Wizard of Oz theme. I can t wait to don my ruby slippers. For more information and participating restaurants, call ext. 256 or go to The panel of impersonators who will be playing these famous, semi famous and sort of famous people will be Aubrey Synclaire, Persana Shoulders, Ava Gina, Tony Leggio, Frankie Fierce, Barbara Ella, Tittie Toulouse, Electra City, Mona del Rose and Elizabeth Bouvier. Can you guess who will be portraying who? There will be performances throughout the night with a special number by fire performance artist Kitty Flambeaux. Cover charge is $10 with all proceeds going to Southern Decadence. The Allways Lounge is located at 2240 St. Claude Avenue. The Pub Gets Twisted There is a new weekly show every Tuesday night at the Parade which is upstairs in the Bourbon Pub starting at 11pm. Show host Napoleon Bonaparte hosts this lively night of drag kings, queens and everything in between. There is a $4 cover for this popular show that features the entertainment of Jack Inman, Imani Nye Black, Blaine Bextor and Karli LaCorre in addition to host Napoleon. The bar features $2 draft beer and well drinks specials. This is definitely one way to make Tuesdays now your late night twisted destination. The Bourbon Pub is located [continued on 20] Let s Play Snatch Game: New Orleans Style If you are missing RuPaul s Drag Race this summer, then come out to this Official Southern Decadence fundraiser and join in all the fun of one of his most popular challenges/games on the show: The Snatch Game. Johnny Passion, a part of the Southern Decadence entourage, is hosting this zany of the Snatch Game on Saturday, July 26th at the Allways Lounge starting at 10pm. If you are not familiar with the Snatch Game, basically it is taken from the old celebrity game show entitled Match Game where contestants try to match the answers of 10 celebrities for points and prizes. This unforgettable event touts the following celebrities: Ab Fab s own Patsy and Edina promoting their new movie, Anna Nicole Smith, (back from the dead), Joan Crawford (again back from the dead), Dolly Parton, Reba Douglas, Bianca del Rio, Carol Channing, Persana Shoulders and more to be announced. 18 The Official Mag : AmbushMag.COM July 15-28, 2014 Official ficial Southern n Decadence Guide since 1982 SouthernDecadence.com

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5 under the gaydar...from 18 at 801 Bourbon Street. Celebrate Christmas in July I never understood why people get upset when they see holiday decorations up before Thanksgiving. People have been celebrating Christmas in July for years, so just relax and smell the fruitcake because Toby Lefort is once again hosting his Christmas in July Show and Auction on Friday, July 25th at the Four Season Lounge. There will be a $5 donation at the door. Show starts at 8 and auction starts at 10. There will be some great auction items to bid on as well as some fabulous performances. Party Down I started my week of events on Thursday with a marathon night of hospitality and networking events. My first stop was a networking party for one of the premier catering companies in the city Fleur di Lis Catering, which invited the hospitality community out to see all the new dishes and look of the company. Their unique interpretation of New Orleans dishes was outstanding. The next stop was the Hobknobbers networking party at Hotel Modern on Lee Circle hosted by New Orleans Magazine. This monthly event is a gathering of local business people to have cocktails and make contacts. Each month it is in a different location. Keeping my momentum going, the next stop on the list was the opening of Deveney Communications new offices on Magazine Street which were just absolutely astounding. Their new digs are an architectural dream with great usage of both indoor and outdoor spaces to create an inviting and relaxing environment. The Eiffel Society s Red Bull party was my next destination. Red Bull had artists from around the city paint their small refrigerator units with the winner given the opportunity to show at their national event in Miami. There were many artists on hand for the VIP party in this interesting space which is a replica of the Eiffel Tower restaurant on St. Charles Avenue. That is why I love this city, so many unusual hotspots. The Pere Marquette hotel rounded out the night of private parties. They hosted a day of Discovery party at their Bar UnCommon with performing artists Kristin Diable playing. There was specialty cocktails and complimentary appetizers in their lounge which is a great watering hole for locals looking for a modern atmosphere with craft cocktails. I ended the night at the Oz for a little twirl with the gays before heading home. Six places, one night = epic fun. On Saturday I began my day early by attending the Satyricon Garage Sale at the Olde Town Dance Hall in the Faubourg Marigny. There was an array of items for sale from televisions and furniture to books and housewares. I found a gorgeous set of bar equipment that looks fabulous on my home bar. The entire krewe was on hand selling their hearts out. I ve never seen such great service before at a garage sale. These guys are retail pros. Continuing on my day of shopping outings, I went throughout the day with various friends and family to different places racking in lots of retail therapy points. Afterwards, I ended the day with another impromptu poolside party at the Mallon Chalmansion with a group of friends. This place is becoming the new unofficial gay bar in Chalmette. For me Sunday Fundays can include just about anything and this day was no exception to the rule. I started the day off with brunch with Beaux and Barrett at this great new restaurant recently open in the Bywater called Sneaky Pickle (love the name). It is a mostly vegetarian and vegan fare but has some great options for meat lovers. It is great tasting food for a good price. Next up was the Southern Decadence fundraiser at GrandPre s hosted by the loveable and outrageous Frankie Fierce. There were plenty of people there to cheer on our new grand marshals and the decorations were fabulous. We ended the day quite low-key, having cocktails poolside at the Bouvier Chalmansion. The Fourth of July was the following weekend and I began the holiday in very unique fashion for me. The first part of Friday, I spent lounging around poolside reading a good book and soaking up the sun alone. It was a gratifyingly relaxing way to recharge my batteries, something I rarely get a chance to do. The second half of the day, I was in the company of royalty, well a Prince, when I attended the Essence Music Festival. If you have not been before, this event is more than a concert, it is an experience. Including three days of concerts, empowerment seminars and parties, the festival attracts thousands of people from around the country. I went on Friday night to see the kickoff show at the Mercedes Benz Superdome. First I started with a private reception at the Hyatt with cocktails and appetizers to pregame, then off to the music. The main stage had some amazing talent this evening with Janelle Monae kicking things off. Monae is an energetic soul and rhythm and blues artist who did a guest appearance on the song We Are Young by the band fun in 2012 which made it to number 1 on Billboard s Top 100 Hit List. Her performance was alive with many of her original music and a few cover songs like Prince s Let s Go Crazy [continued on 22] 20 The Official Mag : AmbushMag.COM July 15-28, 2014 Official ficial Southern n Decadence Guide since 1982 SouthernDecadence.com