HISTORY

THE OFFICIAL LEGEND OF LE MARCHE DU NAIN ROUGE

Before founding Detroit in 1701, Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac meets a fortune-teller, who warned him to beware of the Nain Rouge. She warns him that the the little red imp that appear to him in a dream is the embodiment of his’s ambition, anger, pride, envy and everything that holds him back. The Nain Rouge she tells him is the harbinger of doom and, if Cadillac chooses to settle near the straits between Michigan and Ontario, though it might pay off one day, it will be a long uphill slog fraught with setbacks.

Cadillac considers this sound counsel, but when Cadillac first sees the fiend in person, The Nain taunts him mercilessness  and Cadillac chases it away with a stick. Courage, though sometimes in the face of common sense, and willingness to endure whatever comes, are henceforth defining characteristics of denizens of the city that Cadillac went on to establish, Detroit.

Unfortunately, the fortune turned out to be true and Cadillac died penniless after he left Detroit for France. The city he founded, however, fared better, endured and prospered (mostly), against the fiendish efforts of the Nain Rouge.

And so, Detroiters memorialized Cadillac’s actions and willingness to persevere and hope for better things, combined with the determination to rise from the ashes. Each year, Detroiters celebrate their liberation of the Nain Rouge in a Spring festival for the good and betterment of the city of Detroit.

And so, for 300 years, Detroiters memorialized Cadillac’s actions and willingness to persevere and hope for better things, combined with the determination to rise from the ashes. At Detroit’s worst moments, the Nain has been seen often cackling or taunting the residents of Detroit. Every year, Detroiters 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. 

Unfortunately, on occasion, the Nain Rouge is still able to manifest and reveal itself to revelers, taunting them by highlighting all of its evil accomplishments meant to bring the city down.   Just in case, revelers are advised to come in disguise, so he can’t exact revenge. On these occasions, a struggle ensues as the Nain Rouge taunts revelers and challenges them to join him in Cass Park, as his ultimate plan for the city’s demise is revealed. The epic confrontation culminates in the decisive moment when 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 Rouge manages to hold the city back once again.

Please come and join us for a celebration of Detroit, and should the Nain Rouge appear, support our city against the Nain Rouge, the embodiment of everything that holds us back. With your help, just like in years past, the thing that tries to thwart us will discover this city is not dead. This city will not give up. This city has a bright future.