The annual Rochester Philatelic Exhibition Stamp Show (Ropex), sponsored by the Rochester Philatelic Association (RPA), is open this weekend in Canandaigua, N.Y., about 190 kilometres east of St. Catharines.
A quick two-hour drive will get you to the Canandaigua Civic Center, where Ropex will welcome attendees from May 20-22 with the theme of “Honoring Our National Parks”. Because it takes place only one week before the highly anticipated World Stamp Show, Ropex will not be included in this year’s World Series of Philately but will revert to its national-level status in 2017.
This year’s event features 15 dealers selling and buying as well as non-competitive exhibits from RPA members. On May 21, the Empire State Postal History Society will meet at noon and the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors will meet at 2 p.m.
Later that evening, the Ropex Dutch Treat Banquet will begin at 5:30 p.m. at Schooner’s Restaurant, 407 Lakeshore Dr., about 1.5 kilometres down the lakefront.
On May 22, there will be the youth “Design-a-Stamp” awards presentation at 1 p.m.
Admission is $2 on May 20-21 and free on closing day, May 22. Doors are open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. on May 20; 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on May 21; and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. on May 22.
For more information, visit rpastamps.org/ropex.html.