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A Well-Seasoned Americover 2013 Comes To Ohio
The show is being held at the Embassy Suites-Rockside, 5800 Rockside Woods, Independence, Ohio, about 10 miles south of Cleveland. Admission and parking are free. The bourse hours are Friday and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., but at Americover shows, the events begin with breakfast and run well into the night.
And that breakfast is free for those staying at the Embassy Suites hotel for Americover, along with a "manager's reception" each evening after the bourse closes.
A first-day ceremony for the "CB10" will be held at 11 a.m. on Friday, August 16, at the show. Participants will illustrate the theme of the show, "First Day Covers for All Seasons." Khalid Hussein, manager of Stamp Fulfillment Services for the U.S. Postal Service, will be the dedicating official.
Americover 2013's pictorial postmarks reflect the show's theme, "Flags and FDCs For All Seasons:" Friday's cancel depicts winter, Saturday's is summer, and Sunday, reflecting the autumn of the show, is fall.
Among the highlights during the show are the largest collection at any one venue all year of first day cover dealers, the largest cachetmakers (new issue FDC producers) bourse of the year, a seminar with Hussein and a representative from the U.S. Postal Service's Cancellation Services unit, which handles first day covers, a World Series of Philately national-level exhibition of rare and unusual first day covers, and the announcement of the winners of the annual AFDCS Cachet Contest, complete with visual displays.
The annual meetings of the American First Day Cover Society are being held during Americover 2013. Also meeting at the show are the American Ceremony Program Society (Chapter #58), the Cachet Makers Association (Chapter #65), the 7-1-71 Affair (Chapter #50), Art Cover Exchange (Chapter #79), and The Virtual Stamp Club (Chapter #84). ESPER (Ebony Society for Philatelic Experiences and Reflections, Chapter #91) and the American Association of Philatelic Exhibitors are also participating.
The American Mobile Postal Museum also will be on display at Americover 2013.
Ken Nilsestuen of Ohio will head the exhibits jury, assisted by Charles J.G. Verge of Ontario, Allison Cusick, Bill Schultz and Ken Martin, all of Pennsylvania.
As a WSP show, the winner of the Grand Award at Americover 2013 will be part of the Champion of Champions competition at StampShow 2014. Americover 2013 is being held the weekend after APS StampShow in Milwaukee, about the midpoint of the drive back to the East Coast.
The day before the show, many of those attending Americover 2013 will take a ride on the Cuyahoga Valley Scenic Railroad through a national park, then visit museums along Cleveland's waterfront, including the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame. After the show closes Sunday evening, show participants are having dinner together at Lockkeepers restaurant, with a talk by Cleveland’s “Dan the Historian,” an expert on the city’s Millionaires Row during the Gilded Age (1875-1929).
During the show, the annual President's Banquet will be held Friday evening, featuring the hotel's Cuyahoga Valley Buffet with three entrees: Tuscan chicken, seared salmon with Kentucky bourbon and vanilla bean sauce, and top sirloin of beef with a ragout sauce. Following the meal, the results of the annual AFDCS Earl Planty Cachet Contest will be announced.
The exhibit awards will be announced Saturday morning during the AFDCS Business Meeting.
Saturday evening's "food event" will be held late – about 9 p.m., after the Cachetmakers Night Owl Bourse. The fare at the post-bourse party includes hamburger sliders, Swedish meatballs, pizza, spanakopita (spinach and feta wrapped in phyllo) and a large vegetable tray.
The Hospitality Suite will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings, and is sponsored by the Robert C. Graebner (Washington, D.C.) and Claude C. Ries (Southern California) Chapters.
More information on Americover 2013 is available on the AFDCS Web site, www.afdcs.org, by e-mail from showinfo@afdcs.org or by regular mail from the AFDCS, PO Box 16277, Tucson, AZ 85732.