Rainier Beer to Celebrate Inaugural ‘R Day’ on October 24

Press Release:

SEATTLE (October 10, 2014) – On Oct. 24, Rainier Beer is kicking off the first annual R Day celebration honoring the anniversary of restoring the Rainier R atop the Old Rainier Brewery. The festivities will entail a city-wide ‘Jubilee Jaunt’ though several Seattle neighborhoods. The procession will be led by a giant replica Rainier Jubilee Can, equipped with a photo podium, housed on a flatbed trailer. The aim is to create a yearly tribute to the heritage and culture of Rainier Beer.

“Last year we were blown away by the outpouring of support and goodwill surrounding the restoration of the Rainier R,” said Dan McHugh, chief marketing officer for Rainier Beer. “It was a demonstration of how passionate people in the Northwest are about the history and culture of Rainier. R Day is simply a way of channeling that energy once a year into the celebration of a Northwest icon.”

Also in tow for this year’s R Day celebration will be Rainier’s famous mascot beer bottles, the Grazing Rainiers, as well as screen printers from Seattle apparel and accessories company Casual Industrees.

“Much like multi-hundred dollar company we started in our garage in 1999, Rainier has the Northwest in its DNA,” said Dan Reid, co-owner of Casual Industrees. “We’re really excited to participate in the R Day celebration this year and look forward to making some limited edition tee-shirts for those who come out and join us for the giant Jubilee Can-led tour of Seattle.”

Scheduled to take place from 2 p.m. until 2 a.m., this year’s Jubilee Jaunt is slated to start at the Old Rainier Brewery and culminate on Capitol Hill after winding a path through Seattle with stops in Lower Queen Anne, Ballard, the University District, Fremont and Belltown. (See attached image for route map.) The public is invited to participate in the procession, celebrate at one or more of the stops and track the progress of the motorcade via Twitter and Instagram by following @Rainier_Beer or via the hash tag #RDay. Additional information can be found at http://rainierbeer.com/.

The giant Rainier Jubilee Can was constructed by Western Neon, the same SoDo-based sign company that produced the R that was hoisted onto the Old Rainier Brewery last year.

The Jubilee Can is a seasonal, 16-ounce can that is available in stores, bars and restaurants now through the New Year. Last year was the first time in 50 years the nostalgic Jubilee Can could be found on store shelves. Similar in design to last year’s retro can design, this year’s features a festive green color scheme inspired by the vintage Jubilee Cans of the 1950s and early 60s.

Along with Casual Industrees and Western Neon, beer wholesaler Columbia Distributing is also supporting this year’s R Day celebration. “Rainier truly is a beloved Northwest brand,” said Chris Steffanci, president of Columbia Distributing. “We are very excited to celebrate every October 24th as the day we ‘Raised the R’ back on the Old Rainier Brewery in recognition of the tremendous support for Rainier Beer throughout the region.”