Aug 31, 2023 - Things to Do

Meet Grrlspot creator Jenna Jordan

Chelsea Brasted

Jenna Jordan, wearing headphones, smiles as she looks at a sound mixing board. — Jenna Jordan created Grrlspot in the months after Hurricane Katrina. Photo: Courtesy of Jenna Jordan

In the days after Hurricane Katrina, Jenna Jordan was looking for a way to reconnect with friends, and not finding a place for her sliver of the LGBTQ+ community, she made one: Grrlspot, a pop-up lesbian bar.

Who dat?: Jordan has been running Grrlspot ever since, and the event returns Saturday to the Toulouse Theatre to celebrate Southern Decadence with DJs and burlesque and circus performers.

Though New Orleans is often cited as one of the most welcoming cities for the LGBTQ+ community and home to several gay bars, it doesn't have a permanent lesbian bar.

Where she went to school: Originally from Pensacola, Florida, Jordan is a Loyola University graduate.

What Grrlspot brings to the community: "We try to be the most eclectic and enthusiastic lesbian bar people have ever seen. Our importance has been amplified by the current cultural climate and the animus toward marginalized communities. Spaces like GrrlSpot, which provide safe, accepting and accessible spaces for queer folks, are more crucial than ever."

Her favorite celebration restaurant: "Sylvain on Chartres Street in the French Quarter."

Her drink order: Bulleit old fashioned.

New Orleans is missing: "A legitimate reason not to have a parade."

If she didn't live here, she'd go: To Amsterdam. "It's below sea level. Art is everything, and people from all over the world travel there specifically to have crazy adventures that they won't tell their parents about."

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Meet Grrlspot creator Jenna Jordan

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