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(Click all pictures for full-size view)
Two views of the poolside reception held after opening day of STAMPSHOW
'98. Each year, there's a reception; last year's was held in Milwaukee
Museum's recreations of city neighborhoods, as far back was when Milwaukee
was a fur traders' outpost.
Many people felt the food service at this reception, and at other events in
the Westin Hotel in general, was mediocre. And a 10-ounce bottle of
Coca-Cola® (or as much as the bartender could get in a plastic glass) cost $3.25 -- plus tip!
This is not a free event, underwritten by APS dues: Tickets cost $25-27.50 each!
But the setting was pretty! Saturday night, there was a wedding held here, with the nervous bride getting ready for her entrance in the elevator hallway. No word on whether she was nervous about getting married, about the reception... or about all the scruffy stamp collectors traipsing through the hotel lobby!
A string quartet played "classical standards" before the ceremony and "Yesterday" as its featured selection during the event.
The stamps were unveiled by (L-R), USPS chief lobbyist Deborah Willhite;
Citizen Stamp Advisory Committee chair Dr. Virginia Noelke; Fine Arts
Museums of San Francisco assistant curator Patricia Junker; and stamp
designer Howard Paine.
After the ceremony, near the USPS retail section on the bourse floor,
American Philatelic Society president John Hotchner and Fine Arts Museums
of San Francisco assistant curator Patricia Junker autographed first day
ceremony programs while the string quartet played in the background.
Text and Photos © 1998 by Lloyd A. de Vries