WAYNE COUNTY (WWJ) - The streets of Detroit at Cass Corridor will be colored red and black with crimson costumes and parade floats on Sunday when the city's annual parade to chase out Nain Rouge returns.
The annual event hosted every March around the spring Equinox brings thousands of people decked out in elaborate costumes and over-the-top floats, with marching bands and krewes that represent the many Detroit neighborhoods in a Mardi Gras-style celebration.
While it seems like one big party, the Marche de Nain Rouge's purpose is to ceremoniously drive out the fabled Nain Rouge - meaning red dwarf in French - whose appearance is said to bring bad luck to Detroit, event organizers explained.
"The Nain Rouge has been a harbinger of doom since the time of Detroit's founding," organizers said on their website. "Each year we hold a parade in the Cass Corridor to trick the Nain with our terrible French and costumes."
According to folklore as told by mLive, the Nain Rouge was first encountered by the city's founder, Antoine Laumet de La Mothe Cadillac in the early 1700s. As the tale goes, the imp attacked Cadillac and cursed him and the city.
Staying true to the legend, the Nain Rouge has reportedly been seen prior to a number of catastrophic events in Detroit. mLive said people reported seeing the creature at the Battle of Bloody Run in 1763 where around 60 British soldiers were killed in an failed attack against Chief Pontiac and before the great 1805 fire that almost destroyed Detroit.
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Reports of Nain Rouge surfaced before General William Hull's surrender of the city to the French during the War of 1812 and two utility workers were also rumored to have spotted the imp prior to the Detroit race riots in 1967.
In perhaps the most recent Nain Rouge sighting, two DTE workers reported seeing a child-like being scaling up a utility pole before a giant snowstorm in 1976 that crippled Detroit.
Organizers for the Marche de Nain Rouge said the event first started in 2010 and to the surprise of many, has grown from a couple hundred in attendance to over 5,000 by 2015.
After a two year hiatus, the celebration returns March 20 where the Nain Rouge will ceremoniously be banished from the city for an entire year; whether the legend is true of not, the parade is a great metaphor for banishing negative energy and all are welcome to attend.
Event organizers said they will begin gathering at the corner of Canfield and Second, right next to Traffic Jam & Snug. The parade is expected to kick off at 1 p.m. at the Masonic Temple.
"You are the parade, so come masked or fully costumed. Bring a marching band. Wear a costume. Build a human-powered float. Put on a mask, cover your body in glitter -- whatever it takes," organizers said.
"Should the Nain Rouge, Detroit's legendary harbinger of doom, try something dastardly, we will show him that hope prevails in the city that rises from the ashes. Bring your sense of Detroit pride and sense of humor."
The event is free to the pubic and is run by volunteers.