Le Rendez-vous du Detroit at Fort Wayne brings the city's history alive

Detroit Free Press

Thomas Bertrand, a reenactor of 25 years as Dr. Thomas Daniel Bloodsworth at the Le Rendez-vous du Détroit event at Ft Wayne on Sunday, August 1, 2021, explaining his display and various items’ history.

Ruffled linen shirts, tricornes, elegant French-style dresses, and knee-breeches aren't something you'd typically find on the street in modern-day Detroit.

But on Sunday, the sights and sounds of the city's French roots filled historic Fort Wayne for Le Rendez-Vous du Detroit, with the goal of bringing the history of Detroit alive with festivities and showcase what life was like back in the era of colonization.

The Le Rendez-vous du Détroit event, held at Ft Wayne on the weekend of July 31-August 1, 2021.

The festival had many exhibits open this weekend for event-goers, including, but not limited to: a medicine stall, a cartography stall, a weaving stall, a stall about the Anishinaabe indigenous people, and a cannon on display. Later on in the day, at about 3:30 p.m., they even shot off the cannon. It was only a blank, of course, but sounded like the real thing.

Reenactor and volunteer Alex Dishaw of Belleville, 25 posing as an 1812 militiaman wearing a hunting coat at a period-accurate cannon at the Le Rendez-vous du Détroit event at Ft Wayne on Sunday, August 1, 2021.

Elizabeth Bourne, chair of Le Rendez-vous du Detroit, is proud of her heritage, a descendent of the St. Aubin family and a member of the Ojibwe nation.

More:FEMA assistance is available for Wayne and Washtenaw counties. Here's what to know.

More:Detroit building was nearly demolished. Now dramatic facelift has brought it back to life

"We put this place on the map, our heritage is important, our language is important," said Bourne. "There's a lot of history here, whether it be French, Native American, or Métis" -- people who are of both French and Native American descent.n.

When I was in attendance, I saw a few events. One was put on by the La Compagnie Dance Troupe, a group dedicated to the preservation of musical tradition from the 16th century to the 19th century. Another was put on by Copper Hill and the All Nations Dancers, where members of the Anishinaabe peoples talked about their history and their traditions, along with putting on traditional dance and music.

Raymond Cadotte, the director of The All Nations Dancers, preforming a traditional dance at the Le Rendez-vous du Détroit event on Sunday, August 1, 2021, at Ft Wayne.

Copper Hill, an Anishinaabek drum group from metro Grand Rapids performing with The All Nations Dancers at the Le Rendez-vous du Détroit event on Sunday, August 1, 2021, at Ft Wayne.

I spoke with Thomas Bertrand, the man running the medicinal stall. He was donned in historical garb, and was explaining to people how the early colonists practiced medicine and dentistry. "I feel like I'm in a position to help people learn. My costume represents a lot of history, and a lot of research I did on my own part."

Ken Roberts, of St. Clair Shores, holding his authentic hand-crafted rifle at the Le Rendez-vous du Détroit event at Ft Wayne on Sunday, August 1, 2021.

An interesting tidbit about the festival is that it was simultaneously broadcasted to the Antoine de la Mothe Cadillac museum in Saint-Nicolas-de-la-Grave, France, where Cadillac was born. The Historic Fort Wayne Coalition helped save his home from demolition and paid for renovations for it to be transformed into a small exhibition of who the explorer was.

"Detroit is still very much a melting pot today, filled with multi-culturalism," said Bourne. "We would like this to become a Detroit party, something we can all celebrate".