Long live the King, Long live the Queen, Long live the King, Long live the Queen

Our Reign Comes to an End

This past year, we have enjoyed the honor of being the Kings and Queens of Naughty. It was an amazing honor, and we were very proud. But all good things must come to an end, and so it is also with this. Last week, we attended Naughty N’awlins 2024, and officially closed out our year long reign, passing the mantle on to this years winners.

But while that simple fact is, in it’s own right, a bit bittersweet, it did not in any way detract from the wonderful experience that is Naughty N’awlins.

Naughty N’awlins 2024

Naughty is always a blast, and this year was no different, even though it was quite busy for us. With Myrina being the Naughty Head Mistress in charge of educational tracks, which brings a great deal of work on it’s own, we taught three Swinky Life workshops, as well as the Naughty for Newbies class, and also sponsored the bar takeover at The Drinkery, as well as hosting an Accidental Swingers VIP meet and greet, so overall a very busy week. Of course, we all made time for ourselves as well, to visit some old favorites like Curio and Felix’s, and of course, our NOLA home away from home, Erin Rose.

We also spent time exploring something new, which has become a bit of a tradition for us each year, to find some theme and chase it down all week long. Two years ago, it was the quest for the best Bread Pudding, which in my opinion, went to Pierre Maspero’s. Last year, it was the quest for the best Turtle Soup… none of us had ever had Turtle Soup before then, and well all fell in love instantly. This year, we went all vampire. Full disclosure, we are all binge watching Interview with the Vampire, so we were primed and ready, and New Orleans did not disappoint.

Interviewing all the Vampires

We started by going to the Vampire Apothecary, mostly for drinks and maybe a snack. The space is small, but not by New Orleans standards. It is cozy, intimate, somewhat dark and mysterious, decorated wonderfully, and the staff are all amazing. The drinks are all fun and delicious (we did try most of them), and you have a choice of several unique drinks, as well as blood bags filled with such delights as Fangria.

As we were discussing our food options, our server informed us that by purchasing two or more drinks, we unlocked a special for oysters 50 cents each. We would have been all over that, but as luck would have it, they had sold out by then. Fear not, we went back later in the week and scarfed up.

He then also told us about the Vampire Speakeasy. This is an invitation only location, and you have to get the invite from staff at one of the other locations, such as the Apothecary where we were. He gave us our secret ticket and instructions, and we were set.

Next on our list was The Vampire Boutique, their museum and shopping spot. We had a blast looking at all of the cool stuff, shopping for scary contact lenses, checking out the fangs, and even had our pictures taken in a coffin. In a very consistent theme, the staff here were also amazing, friendly, and just wonderful, giving us our second ticket to the speakeasy as well.

Next up was The Vampire Cafe, the full eatery out of the Vampire lineup. As a normal eatery, it was a bit less themed than the rest of the locations, but still a fun place, and the burgers were quite good. Third speakeasy ticket? You Bet!!

Finally, our time at the speakeasy arrived. I won’t give many details, as I would rather everyone have the experience of the speakeasy for themselves, but… it was really great, we had an awesome time, yet again the staff was very friendly and fun, and the drinks, as well as the view, were awesome. All in all, a great way to spend the week.

The Transfer of Power

The official change over began with The Sexual Freedom Parade, in which we were the honorees on the main float. It was an amazing, fun, loud experience, and when it was all over, we agreed it seemed like it only took 5 minutes. We had watched the parade before, but always on Bourbon St., which is always a party. Being in the parade was an entirely new perspective, as we really got to see the people of New Orleans, not just the partiers on Bourbon St., and the way they embraced us and our little parade, and that was also awesome. It completely reinforced the notion that what we were marching for is widely accepted and desired, even by many who choose not to display it for themselves.

And then finally, late that night, in the main ballroom, we officially crowned the new King and Queen. As with everything Naughty, it was over in a flash, but the memories will live forever.

The Quiet After the Storm

After the festivities, we slipped back into the roles of simple attendees, spending some time in the playrooms that night, and enjoying a night of relative anonymity. While our time as kings and queens is now over, we are always by title Kings and Queens of Naughty N’awlins, and will continue to wear that title proudly, and support the organization and all that they do for this amazing community.

Long live the King… Long live the Queen