Southern Gothic Festival

Starting today, Goths from all over will take a bite out of New Orleans at the Southern Gothic Festival.

New Orleans has stood as a spiritual capital for Gothic Industrial culture for decades.  Between the city's reputation for wild living and loose morals, its innate exoticism and the dark literary works of Anne Rice and Poppy Z. Brite, New Orleans has been heralded as a safe haven for all who wear black. She is a city weird enough, free enough, and wild enough to provide a suitable backdrop to the dark and passionate lives of the members of the Goth community.  As the festival's promoters say, "New Orleans belongs to us.  She gets us.  New Orleans needs Goth, just like Goth needs New Orleans."

What can you expect at the festival?  Music, drinking, dancing, and food.  Bands to be featured include Ego Likeness, Frausun, Suicide Assyst, Espermachine, Sullen  Serenade, Spiritual Bats, Cyanotic, Unter Null, with Headliners Hanzel und Gretyl and, from the UK, the Cassandra Complex.  There will also be 9 DJs spinning over the course of the festival.

The festival activities take place at night (of course), but there are many things to do during the day that appeal to Goth sensibilities:

• First get in the groove by buying a New Orleans Gothic T-shirt from the folks at Dirty Coast.  Forget the cheesy tees found on Bourbon St. 

• Take a French Quarter Phantom Tour.

• Definitely take a Save our Cemeteries tour.  These tours are operated by a nonprofit organization dedicated to preserving the Cities of the Dead and New Orleans history and culture.

• Get in touch with your inner Vampire at Boutique du Vampyre in the French Quarter. 

• Visit one of several VooDoo temples and shops around the French Quarter.
• http://voodoomuseum.com/
• http://www.voodoospiritualtemple.org/
• http://www.bloodymarystours.com/marielaveaus.html
• Esoterica Occult Goods (has good selection of books too)
• Marie Laveau's House of Voodoo at 739 Bourbon St.
•  If you want to get your candles, potions, and gris gris bags where the locals do, then visit F&F Botanica at 801 North Broad Street New Orleans, LA 70119 in Mid-City.  It is not far from the French Quarters, has a huge selection, and offers excellent prices.  (504) 482-5400. 

• Find Goth-friendly clothing and accessories at these French Quarter retailers:
• Kulture Vulture at 523 Dumaine St. has cool clothes and accessories, including stuff for kids.  (My favorite is the Cereal Killer bib.)
• Second Skin Leather at 521 St. Phillip St.
• Mary Jane's Emporium at 1229 Decatur St.

• Get a drink at one of these bars sure to bring out the night creature in you:
• Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop
• Ye Old Original Dungeon
• Mojo Lounge at 1140 Decatur St.
• The Abbey at 1123 Decatur St.

• Grab a cup of coffee at Cafe Envie at 1241 Decatur St.

There's much more Goth to be had in New Orleans.  You have to crawl around to find out what's it's all about.  See you under the light of the moon.