Chasing that little bugger: Mardi Gras en Rouge by DC in Detroit

DC is a longtime contributor to the MCB.

She can be reached at DC.in.Detroit [at] gmail.com

Mardi Gras en Rouge

6 February 2016

Detroit/Hamtramck, Michigan

What you need to know about the Nain Rouge is that everything bad that’s happened to you in the past 3 months is his fault. That’s because winter — and any other misfortune — is his doing, and as much as Detroiters tough it out every year, there’s no one who wouldn’t prefer to skip it and head straight to spring. That’s where the Marche du Nain Rouge comes in, chasing the little bugger back into the Detroit River on the first Sunday of Spring.

It’s easy to forget Detroit’s French roots, but you don’t even need it to enjoy a good Mardi Gras party. And that’s what we got on Saturday, 6 February, courtesy the Mardi Gras en Rouge. We don’t have to work hard to find a good reason to party, but in this case, we also got an excuse to feel good about ourselves — the party was a fundraiser for restaurant/museum/music nonprofit Gabriel Hall and one of our favorite recurring events, the Marche du Nain Rouge.

We were asked to “dress to impress, with a touch of red,” and impress we did. The smallish space was comfortably packed with good-lookers in their finery and mandatory masks, bouncing to a regular stream of live music and other entertainment, pressing the flesh, and being merrily mysterious. Soon enough, we were happily munching from the Gabriel Hall buffet, and super tasty Belle Isle Pizza who showed up with a specially-concocted spicy Nain Rouge pizza. It’s not on the menu, but legend has it, if you call and request it, they’ll make one special for you. By the time I was 3 or 4 hurricanes in, that pizza was the highlight of my night.

Oh and the Nain Rouge? Yeah, he had the nerve to show his snarly little face in the midst of our merry-making. We chased him out, but I’m afraid he’s just hiding, waiting to wreak more havoc if we aren’t vigilant. Our chance to banish him for another year is fast approaching, so prepare your battle gear and make sure to come out and make some noise with us in the Marche du Nain Rouge on March 20th.

Created with flickr slideshow.