With show organizers forced to close their doors to stem the spread of COVID-19, an Alberta collector has created a series of special mourning covers to mark this past year’s slew of cancelled conventions. Since March 2020, when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a global pandemic, show organizers in Canada have either postponed or outright cancelled virtually all shows, big and small. But with their large crowds and entrenched social mingling, major conventions bear the brunt of the risk. In 2020, Canada’s five national-level exhibitions – the Edmonton “Spring National,” Orapex, the annual Royal Convention, the Postal History Society of Canada (PHSC) Symposium and Canpex – were all cancelled. BNAPEX, another large gathering serving as the annual convention of the British North America Philatelic Society (BNAPS), also met the same fate. The latter convention hosts a competitive British North America-focused exhibition rather than an official national exhibition accredited to participate in the World Series of Philately (WSP). Continue reading →
Last year’s Royal Philatelic Society of Canada Convention in Fredericton, N.B., is among the national exhibitions honoured on a set of commemorative mourning covers. Alberta collector Dave Bartlet produced the small series beginning last year.
