Detroiters, have you stubbed your toe lately? Did you trip and fall in the mud? Did you lose a paper or have your printer jam at the worst possible moment? Did you ever feel like everything is just going wrong? There's a reason for it. Someone, or something, caused it all. And that thing is The Nain Rouge of Detroit.
The Nain Rouge, French for "red dwarf ," is a mythical creature that is said to cause havoc and chaos for the city of Detroit and all who inhabit it. He is believed to be the very thing that holds the city back from success. Every spring, Detroiters come together for the Marche Du Nain Rouge to celebrate the city and to banish the evil Nain from its streets.
Legend has is that just before Antoine de La Mothe Cadillac went off to discover Detroit, he sought the advice of a fortune teller who told him that he’d found a great city, but he’d have to face the embodiment of failure and his fate before it could succeed. She told him to beware of the Le Nain Rouge. She warned him that the Nain is the embodiment of his ambition, anger, pride, envy — everything that held him back. The Nain Rouge, she told him, is the harbinger of doom. Cadillac ignored her warnings, convinced that he could overcome any hardships he may face.
After arriving, Cadillac saw Le Nain, who began to mock him mercilessly. Cadillac took it upon himself to chase the creature away. Courage and willingness to endure whatever comes are henceforth defining characteristics of occupants of the city that Cadillac went on to establish: Detroit. Cadillac's actions only angered Le Nain, who then resolved to torture the inhabitants of Detroit for all of time.
Detroiters are the perfect playmate for The Nain. Strong and determined to succeed, Detroiters are filled with pride for the city, believing it will rise from the ashes. The Nain thrives on this positive outlook and does whatever he can to remind Detroiters that the city will never be a success. In the lowest moments, The Nain has been there, cackling and reveling in the failures.
At the Marche Du Nain Rouge, Detroiters come together to "celebrate liberation from the Nain, a new beginning, and whatever is good and working in the city in a spring festival for the good and betterment of the city of Detroit. " Naturally, this provokes The Nain, so attendants are encouraged to dress in disguise so that he cannot exact his revenge.
The Nain challenges and taunts revelers and encourages them to join him in Cass Park to hear his ultimate plan for the demise of Detroit. The future of the city hinges on the whether the gathered Detroiters can overwhelm the Nain Rouge’s dastardly plans with their hope for better things, or whether the Nain manages to hold the city back once again.
To join in and help stop The Nain Rouge, stop by the parking lot of Traffic Jam & Snug, 511 W. Canfield St., at 1 p.m. on March 20. The Marche will process along Second Avenue.
