Colorful sunflower stamp to debut in Strongsville

A brightly colored stamp showing tall sunflowers will debut at Ohio's oldest and largest stamp show in two weeks. A ceremony to unveil the "forever" stamp is set for 11 a.m., March 14 during the Garfield-Perry Stamp Club's 136th annual March Party at the Best Western Plus, 15471 Royalton Road, Strongsville. "It's a beautiful stamp. People like sunflowers and it should be popular for anyone who uses the mail," said show co-chairman Rocco Caponi of Cuyahoga Falls. "We're hosting a stamp release for the third consecutive year. The U.S. Postal Service likes how we organize these events and draw people to attend," he added. Representatives of Rocky River-based Prayers From Maria, which plants sunflower fields in Avon and Sandusky as part of its campaign to raise awareness of and combat childhood cancer, and the Ukrainian Museum and Archives in Cleveland will join the stamp release ceremony. The sunflower is a national symbol of Ukraine, which for four years has defended its territory from invading Russian forces. The stamp will be printed in a booklet pane of 20 stamps. As forever stamps, they will pay the current 78-cent first-class letter rate and can be used in the future with no additional fee after a planned postage rate increase this summer. The March Party is one of the oldest shows in the country. It is set for March 13-15 at the hotel on state Route 82, just east of Interstate 71. Hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission and parking are free. "We are planning another fabulous show aimed to attract both collectors and the general public. People come from hours away to attend our show because it connects people who have an interest in stamps, history and culture," Caponi said. A 38-dealer bourse, or sales area, is among the show's highlights. Dealers from across the country will offer stamps, postal history and ephemera. Beyond the stamp release, the club will host a meeting of the International Machine Cancel Society on Friday afternoon. Society members collect and study the history of mechanical postmarking devices. Educational programs include a presentation by club treasurer Ken Nilsestuen of Akron on "U.S. Newspaper and Periodical Stamps" at 2 p.m. Friday. At 3 p.m. Friday, I will present "People and the Posts: Stories Behind the Mail in Early Lorain County History" in collaboration with the Ohio Postal History Society. The presentation is based on my local postal history columns published in The Chronicle-Telegram. Following Saturday's stamp release, Bigalke will host a Postcrossing Meetup beginning at 1 p.m. Postcrossing is an online community whose members enjoy sending and receiving post cards from around the world. Participants will be stamping cards for mailing to international members randomly generated through the organization's website. More than two dozen exhibits of historic stamps and postal history will be on display as well. The exhibits are part of the American Philatelic Society World Series of Philately and will be judged by an accredited jury. Awards will be presented at a banquet the evening of March 14 at the hotel. Finally, Caponi said, club members will host a "Philatelic Antiques Roadshow" from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday to review stamp holdings someone has inherited or has in their possession. Two different souvenir show covers focused on the sunflower theme and designed by GP member and Ohio native Denise Stotts will be available for purchase. They will feature a pictorial postmark dated each of the three days. Covers cost $3 and will be available throughout the show and by mail. Orders can be placed by mailing a check made out to the club for the number of covers desired and a self-addressed, stamped envelope to P.O. Box 30338, Middleburg Heights, OH 44130. Learn more about the March Party at the club's website: www.garfieldperry.org. Dennis Sadowski can be reached at Sadowski.dennis@gmail.com.