Gay Events:

Bourbon Street Extravaganza

When:
September 1, 2012 – September 1, 2012
Where:
New Orleans, Louisiana

The Bourbon Street Extravaganza is an event envisioned and created by one of Napoleon's Itch's owners, Chuck Robinson in anticipation of the grand opening of the bar during Southern Decadence 2004.   Robinson, with 25 years’ experience in the entertainment and recording industry, proposed to the City Council and the Mayor of New Orleans a FREE Concert to be staged live on Bourbon Street at the corner of St. Ann and Bourbon in front of Napoleon's Itch, A Concert that was to become an exclusive event annually for Southern Decadence, which Chuck named the BOURBON STREET EXTRAVAGANZA. In 9 years this event has become the largest event of Southern Decadence.

For the first Bourbon Street Extravaganza, Robinson brought in the Dance Circuit Divas, Martha Wash "It's Raining Men", and Jeanie Tracy "Cha Cha Heels", along with a male dance show and staged a live concert for an estimated 13,000 people, free to the public.  It was an overwhelming success and is now the exclusive right of its creator. The Concert for Southern Decadence 2012, now dubbed the ‘BSE”, is marking its 9th year of dominating the festivities of Decadence. Through the 9 years Robinson has brought to the Stage Stars like Martha Wash, Jeanie Tracy, Inaya Day, Amber, Mary Griffin, Thea Austin, Gina Brown, Mat Jordan, Frederick Ford, Damian Faul, Sandy V., Erika Jayne, and Deborah Cox, not to mention an array of professional dancers. In 2012 the famed Rugby Star, Dan Cohen, through a partnership with HRC will be featured on stage. Cohen is a forceful advocate for anti-Gay Bashing and Anti- Bullying.  Hurricanes Katrina and Gustav and the 2011 Tropical storm have forced 2 past shows to cancel, but in 2011 the BSE was moved indoors amidst torrential rains and Jeanie Tracy carried the reduced show with opening act Derrick Stevens. Twice the state wide VOICE OF PRIDE vocalist’s winners have been featured on the show. The 2013 10th anniversary BSE is already in planning stages and the Concert has for four years in a row prompted the Mayor and City Council to honor Chuck Robinson on stage with a declaration memorializing his contributions to the City and its efforts to rebuild. Quote Robinson, “it is imperative that we give something back to the 150,000 people who come to our City yearly for this 41 year old Festival, providing 1/6th of the total operating budget for the City of New Orleans”

For more information, visit http://www.napoleonsitch.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=10&Itemid=15