Southern Decadence cancels free outdoor concert due to monkeypox concerns

NEW ORLEANS (NOLA WEEKEND) - Monkeypox concerns cause the cancellation of one of the big events at Southern Decadence.

The free outdoor concert, “The Bourbon Street Extravanganza,” scheduled for Sept. 3 at the corner of Bourbon and St. Ann Street in the French Quarter will not take place this year. The concert was set to return for the first time since the pandemic.

The concert normally attracts up to 20,000 people.

There have been concerns about the lack of availability of the Monkeypox vaccine in Louisiana.

Earlier this month, the Louisiana Department of Health said it was in contact with Southern Decadence organizers to get people vaccinated before the event.

“I think what we should be doing, and we are doing, is to ensure there’s visibility on where individuals can get access to vaccine if they fall within one of our high-risk population groups,” Shantel Hebert-Magee, Regional Medical Director for LDH Region 1, said in a previous interview with FOX 8.

Monkeypox spreads through close or intimate contact.

Southern Decadence takes place annually during Labor Day weekend, and the weekend of festivities, also known as “Gay Mardi Gras” is one of the largest LGBTQ events in the country.

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