DETROIT (WWJ) -- If we told you that all of Detroit’s problems were actually due to the evil workings of a mischievous, goblin-like creature...would you believe us?
Probably not. But thankfully, reality can be suspended in disbelief — if just for a few hours — at the Marche du Nain Rouge festival in Midtown Detroit.
The annual event in the Cass Corridor is just over a decade old, but as WWJ’s Zach Clark and Annie Scaramuzzino learned on a recent episode of The Daily J podcast, the legend of the Nain and its storied history with Detroit goes back much further than that.
The Nain Rouge — meaning “Red Dwarf” in French — is a mythological creature who is considered a harbinger of doom.
In other words, if you see the Nain, something bad is about to go down.
Detroit lore says the Nain first appeared to founder Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac in 1701, who banished the creature from the city, but sparked a centuries-long vendetta in the process.
Throughout the years, many have claimed that the Nain could be seen just before all of Detroit’s most notable tragedies.
The Great Fire of 1805? The Nain.
The riots of 1967? The Nain.
Detroit’s damaging ice storm of 1976? Well…you get the picture.
So about a decade ago, when Detroit was in the throes of bankruptcy and things were looking rather grim, two Wayne State University law students decided to leverage the power of the Nain Rouge to change the narrative.
Noticing that New Orleans -- another city with French origins -- had used the positivity of Mardi Gras celebrations to uplift the community in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, Francis Grunow and Joe Uhl thought Detroit could benefit from a similar concept.
The idea became what is now known as the Marche du Nain Rouge — an annual parade and festival where Detroiters come together to banish the Nain and all its negativity in the hopes that better days are ahead.
Taking place the weekend after the Vernal Equinox, the timing is meant to reflect new life and regrowth as we shed the cold and gloomy weather, and make way for spring.
When the festival first launched in 2010, Francis Grunow says they had no idea what to expect, especially since the organizers had never put something like Nain Rouge together before.
“We didn’t even know if anybody would come the first year,” Grunow recalled. “Several hundred people did come, so we did work with the city to get a temporary street closure that year.”
“As it’s gone along, one of the most important things we’ve wanted to maintain is a working relationship with the city and getting permits and really trying to make it a tradition,” Grunow added. “It’s been interesting to learn how parades can work in the city…[and] how we can make celebration a daily part of civic life.”
Fast-forward to 2023, and March du Nain Rouge, which has attracted thousands since that first festival 13 years ago, was fully back on its feet after a semi-soft, post-COVID relaunch in 2022.
In fact, the aftermath of the pandemic worked as a way to reaffirm what the festival has always represented — a chance to banish the things we’d rather leave in the past, and move on to better days.
Over the last decade, dozens of Cass Corridor business owners and countless residents have gotten in on the festival fun, dressing up in masquerade-style costumes and creating signs that encourage the Nain to “Go Away!”
There are street performers, intricately tricked-out cars and floats (this is Detroit, after all) and live music, along with a renewed sense of community in the neighborhood.
George Boukas, who owns Detroit’s historic Temple Bar, says he believes the Nain Rouge festival is an expansion of what the Cass Corridor has always represented — a place for beloved "misfits" to gather and be themselves.
But Boukas also notes the festival is a great way for attendees to become reacquainted with the Cass Corridor in general, and to support the many people who have worked hard to keep the neighborhood going through its toughest times.
“People just venture off into establishments that they haven’t been to in years or that are new that they just want to check out,” Boukas said. “Whether it’s grabbing a drink or grabbing a bite to eat or coming to dance…it’s just a fun day.”
On the day of the event, costume-clad parade-goers gather on the corner Second Avenue and Canfield Street, and ready themselves for 0.7 mile procession, which ends on the steps of the Masonic Temple.
There, they’ll wait with bated breath to see if the Nain will appear, often riding in on his giant cockroach chariot and promising acts of doom and revenge -- like Punxsutawney Phil, but in devil form.
That’s when the crowd comes together to banish the Nain, booing and jeering with the goal of scaring him off and protecting Detroit for another year.
People have become so invested in the festival, in fact, that a group of pro-Nain protesters has even been established, showing up on parade day to stake their claim that the mischievous red creature is actually misunderstood.
But as festival co-founder Francis Grunlow says, the purpose of the parade is always rooted in positivity, and meant to act as a moment of catharsis for Detroiters to shed their troubles from the last year.
He also hopes the festival can serve as the impetus for future events that celebrate Detroit and its incredible history.
“I think the Marche du Nain Rouge [can be a] touchpoint to this earlier part of Detroit and I think if people can continue to evolve that, there’s no reason we couldn’t have multiple parades,” Grunlow said. “Not just about the Nain Rouge, but have it be an anchor point to a flourishing of more creative thought around these ideas and legends and stories that the city is so rich with.”
Marche du Nain Rouge is set for Sunday, March 24 at 12 p.m. in Midtown Detroit.
Find out more festival information here and be sure to listen and subscribe to The Daily J on the Audacy app, or wherever you get your podcasts.