Gustav aside, preparations for the annual Southern Decadence party are underway today in the French Quarter. It is the first day of the five-day Southern Decadence celebration in New Orleans' French Quarter.

The Greater New Orleans Convention and Visitors Bureau calls it a long weekend of parties, parades and gay pride, as well as one of the oldest and largest gatherings of gays in the country. This is the 37th Southern Decadence in New Orleans.

Each year there are protests of the event, which this year is promoting attractions like "the most amazing group of porn stars ever assembled for Southern Decadence." Organizers in recent years have asked party-goers to tone it down some, amid complaints of public lewdness.