As we all continue to deal with the struggles that the pandemic has presented, signs of positivity and hope are starting to show up. One of the most enjoyable aspects of this hobby are the gatherings with fellow collectors and dealers to share information, stories and discoveries with our philatelic friends. Obviously we still can not gather in the large groups like before the pandemic, but as the vaccination efforts continue to move forward we can at least now see the possibility of these things happening again.
Until that day when we can all meet at an event indoors, we are trying to get creative with things here. We have been in talks with our local stamp club in Penticton over the last few weeks about setting up an outdoor stamp club garage sale at our shop. For those of you who have visited our store here in Penticton, you will know that we have a large paved compound area outside which can work perfectly for a safe, socially distant club event that will abide by all current Government protocols. Tables will be setup in a U shape outside of our store and directional tape will be used to keep a stream of the closely controlled collectors allowed in at each time (10 will be the max) and then a lineup of those waiting to get in will be setup outside our gates. Masks and 6 feet of distance will obviously be mandatory but in essence this will be a "stamp gathering"! We will have a couple of tables, as well as other members of the club as we offer our material to those collectors looking for more material to process and add to their collections. It will be strange to "gather" with a group of fellow philatelists again, and we are excited to participate in a stamp show type environment once again after such a long drought :-)
Local Covid requirements are changing all the time, and could possibly cancel our plans as promptly as the weather could but the date has been set for June 13th, 2021 so here in the Okanagan we are not concerned about the weather too much.
Perhaps this may be something your local club could explore??
Happy collecting!
