Detroit — Some looking for a red hobgoblin and others looking to have fun marched along Second Street in the city on Sunday.
The annual Marche du Nain Rouge, a community art parade and presentation in Detroit’s historic Cass Corridor, kicked off at Second and Canfield streets Sunday afternoon with adults, families and even pets wearing red faces, horns, top hats, roller skates and other random items to march together.
The march signals the first sign of spring and the return of the Nain Rouge, the fabled red dwarf and one of Detroit’s oldest legends, although Sunday was cloudy and chilly, said Scott Collins of Huntington Woods, 57.
“It’s … for the fun of it. Some are nicer, sunnier and what not. It’s just a good time. Every year we come,” Collins said while walking down Second Street wearing a red top hat and holding a depiction of a roaring red hobgoblin who he said was Rouge.
At Marche du Nain Rouge hundreds were dressed in everything from Halloween-like costumes to vintage pieces of clothing found in their closets to becoming red-bodied creatures themselves.
Adrianna Pete of Maybee came to the parade for the first time wearing red face paint, a plaid dress and horns. She enjoyed checking out Detroit and the vendors.
“I’ve seen people post about it for a while on social media. I’m into the cult and spiritual stuff like that, so … it was really fun,” said Pete, 26.
The Nain Rouge goes back to Detroit’s founding. Each year the community holds a “tongue in cheek” parade in the Cass Corridor keeping an eye out for the Nain Rouge while walking or strolling on mini-to-large cycles and human-powered floats.
It’s a Mardi Gras-like event, and folks chase and taunt the devilish hobgoblin as he did to Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, Detroit’s founder, in the 18th century, according to local lore.
On Second Street, there was a gorilla dressed in a green leotard; jokers; witches with broomsticks; spiders; bubble-blowing ghostbusters; and walkers holding signs like “Nain Nain Go Away,” and “No Kings No Nain.”
Costumed revelers included Ashton Kramer of Detroit and friends Sarah Nunez of Westland and Matt Liamini of Hazel Park.
Kramer wore a chicken costume with hand-made chicken head and was amazed by the other creations she saw, including how the number of people attending the parade has grown since she last attended over 15 years ago.
“It’s always nice to be dressed up with a lot of people during dark days. I was at the first one many many years ago and seeing how big it’s getting over the years is really amazing,” Kramer said.
“It’s cool. It’s not super organized. You just meet up and you can walk, it’s so fun,” said Nunez, 56. She wore a red dress, a big heart necklace and a gray yarned wig.
Who is Nain Rouge?
According to VisitDetroit’s website, legend has it that the Nain Rouge, a small, dark, and ugly crimson figure with pointed teeth and glowing ember eyes, roams Detroit and is a harbinger of misfortune.
Where does the legend come from?
The legend of the Nain Rouge goes back to Detroit’s founding by Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac in the 1700s, according to VisitDetroit.
While attending a party in Quebec, a fortune teller warned Cadillac of a future encounter with the Nain Rouge on his next adventure. She said Cadillac needed to please the monster with flattery and his reward would be discovering a city that would rival ones in France. If he disrespected the fiend, misfortune would darken his life, the site says.
Cadillac sailed out to discover the Motor City and eventually established Fort Pontchartrain du Detroit on the western bank of the Detroit River. The fort prospered for years until one night someone spotted the Nain Rouge. And instead of paying him respect, Cadillac smacked the monster with his cane and told him to leave the city, according to the Detroit site.
The Nain Rouge slipped away into the darkness and bad fortune was ahead for Cadillac, who was removed from his illustrious post and shipped to Louisiana to live with his family, the site says.Over the decades, the Nain Rouge has been invoked at catastrophes in Detroit including the 1805 fire, 1960s riots and blizzard of 1976. This led to the annual tradition on the Sunday after the Vernal Equinox, where Detroiters gather for a march to meet the Nain Rouge.
mjohnson@detroitnews.com
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Nain Rouge lures costumed revelers to Detroit’s annual parade
Reporting by Myesha Johnson, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
