A Day To Remember

Ray Davies Day is just the latest in awesome Portland proclamations.

DAVIES DAY: The only day for Ray.
By Casey Jarman

Longtime Portland DJ Gregarious T. Cline had a simple dream: to open for famed Kinks frontman Ray Davies at the Aladdin Theater.

He pitched the theater's owner, Mark Adler, on a DJ set called "A Love Letter to Ray Davies." Adler wasn't sold on the unconventional idea of hiring a local DJ to open one of his biggest summer shows. Cline needed cachet, so he turned to the same hype machine so many others have: Portland Mayor Sam Adams.

It started with an email. "It's the 21st century," Cline says excitedly. "I had nothing to lose, I didn't even need to knock on the door."

A week passed with no response from the mayor. Then, on June 19, Adams retweeted a message: "RT if you love the #Kinks and want make July 15th RAY DAVIES Day in Portland!” 

Only nine people retweeted the mayor, but Cline wasn't deterred. "I emailed and said, 'Look, a friend of mine had Wonder Woman Day declared,'" Cline says. "She's a cartoon character."

The mayor's office responded by asking Cline to write up a proclamation for Adams to sign. (Sample line: "Whereas Ray Davies has supplied Portland with a soundtrack for every day, every mood, and every conceivable scenario in our fair landscape.")

"He loves it," Cline says of the mayor's tendency toward increasingly ridiculous proclamations. "I've been telling all my friends, 'You better get your day in before he leaves office.'"

The evidence suggests Cline is right. After years of incidentally funny proclamations ("Sock Knitting Week"), our city calendar has been increasingly stuffed with novelty-themed days such as "Portlandia in Portland for Portlanders Day" and "Awesome Day." With Adams not seeking another term, we're living in the final days of a Golden Age of ridiculous proclamations.

Cline—a true Kinks fanatic who also plays in a Kinks cover band—says Ray Davies has, through management, approved his special day. DJ Gregarious' opening slot, however, still hasn't been confirmed. Oh well. Cline has a new goal in mind: "I'm going to get 'Gregarious Year.' I'm going to try and trump them all with the stupidest thing for the longest time."

He has his work cut out for him. 


Past Proclamations


Portland Buckaroo Day (March 13, 2009)
Dare U 2 Read-A-Thon Weeks (April 20-25, 2009; Sept. 21-25, 2009) 
Best way 2 get kidz 2 do N E thing.
Medical Marijuana Awareness Month (May 2009)
Somebody got stoned and forgot to celebrate weed on 4/20.
Hosford Middle School’s Eighth Grade Promotion Day (June 8, 2009) 
So confused by this.
Sock Knitting Week (Aug. 6-9, 2009)
Shouldn’t we give it a month, really?
Portland Pancake Day (Sept. 3, 2009)

Sea Otter Awareness Week (Sept. 24-30, 2009)
Everybody forgets about sea otters.
Wonder Woman Day (Oct. 25, 2009)
Everybody forgets about Wonder Woman.

International Cat Show Week (Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2009)
When fancy Siamese cats make Portland their scratching post.
Day of Appreciation for Bill Schonely (April 3, 2010)
You’ve got to make your free throws.

“A day in recognition of the people who collect and share stories that build strong and vibrant communities” (April 22, 2010)
Just seems sorta vague.

Norwegian Constitution Day (May 17, 2010)
Because the people running this country have forgotten about the founding fathers and the...Norwegian...Constitution.
National Basketball & Hip-Hop Culture Month (June, 2010)
The day on which we watch Above the Rim and try not to cry.
Salsa Sunday (Aug. 29, 2010)

Double Tenth Day (Oct. 10, 2010
Wait, shouldn’t it have been triple-tenth day?
Portlandia Day (Oct. 15, 2010)

A Day of Celebration and Appreciation for Rose Empress XV, Darcell the Divine (Nov. 16, 2010)
The Pongo Fund Pet Food Bank Day (Nov. 14, 2010)

Portlandia in Portland for Portlanders Day (Jan. 14, 2011)
It had been nearly three months since the first Portlandia day.
Mel Blanc Day (June 29, 2011)
Meep meep!

Portland’s Rock ’n’ Roll Camp for Girls is Awesome Day (June 29, 2011)
Awesome Day (April 26, 2012)
It really doesn’t get any better than having your mayor declare a day “Awesome Day.”
Gluten-Free Beer Day (May 16, 2012)
Ray Davies Day (July 15, 2012)

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