Marche du Nain Rouge Heralds Kickoff to Spring with Parade through Midtown
In a display of bold jazziness and wacky eccentricity, the Marche du Nain Rouge parade through Detroit’s Cass Corridor on Sunday, March 23, heralded the official start of spring in the city.
The parade’s organizer and co-founder, Francis Grunow, said the event is intended to distract people from the chaos of the real world—a chance for them to cut loose and have fun.
Thousands came to view the parade on Second Avenue and West Canfield Street in Midtown. Led by Detroit’s Gabriel Brass Band, it lasted for about an hour and concluded at the Masonic Temple on Temple Street.
With a blend of New Orleans-inspired jazz, the annual appearance of a mythical legend, and DJs entertaining the crowd with techno at the parade afterparty, the Marche du Nain Rouge is like Mardi Gras for Detroit.
The parade has an unusual history, with about 300 years of tradition behind it. The Nain Rouge — also known as “red dwarf” in French — is a “cryptid described as an impish, cantankerous creature who has allegedly been sighted in Detroit before several catastrophes,” according to a Detroit Free Press report. In previous versions of the event, people were encouraged to chase Nain out of the city, fending off the potential for bad luck. Often, effigy burnings took place once the parade had ended in an effort to excise Nain.
This year, organizers decided Nain could stay, calling the event the “Groundhog Day of Detroit.”
Several versions of the Nain story attribute the myth to Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac, the founder of Detroit, who saw a little red devil running through the city before she experienced financial destruction.
John Tenney, a Detroit historian who studies folklore and other mythical creatures, said the origin of the red dwarf is tied to anti-Indigenous stereotypes. Tenney has hoped for a change like this for some time — he has protested at every march for the last 20 years.
According to the Free Press, Tenney and about a dozen other protesters stood with signs embracing Nain. Tenney said he still appreciates the city’s celebration and is pleased with the change in the parade’s tone.
