Fairgoers can help break world record
2009-09-03
The New York State Fair and the US Postal Service are asking Fair visitors to help them break a world record at the Fair Saturday by mailing more postcards from one location in a single day than has ever been done before.
To do that, Fair visitors need to send out more than 4,976 postcards from the Fair during the attempt, which will be made on Saturday, Sept. 5.
"What better place to try a world record than at our own New York State Fair, with thousands of fairgoers to join the fun," Syracuse Postmaster Gail Weeks said.
Saturday's record-breaking attempt will be staged at a special "Record Breakin' Station" near the Fair's Main Gate from 8 am to 5 pm. Postal officials will provide post cards and sell postage at the station. Fairgoers can bring their own post cards if they wish - as long as it is mailed from the Fairgrounds, it counts toward the record.
Previous record mailings of postcards were held in Haverhill, Mass. with 4,976 mailed in July; and in China's Luoyang City, with 4,493 mailed in April.
All postcards will receive a special one-day postmark, prepared with the support of the Syracuse Stamp Club, that commemorates the Record-Breakin' Station. Postage on the free, over-size postcards that will be supplied by the Postal Service at the Fair is 44 cents. Smaller, more typical-sized postcards cost 28 cents to send.
Postmaster Weeks will certify the final number of postcards collected during the challenge. Each card that enters the count must include an address, postage and a message. The message can be as simple as a one-word "Hi," or a lengthy description of what someone did that day.
By mailing a postcard to themselves, Fairgoers can get a unique Fair souvenir for a handful of loose change.
The attempt is already recorded with Guinness World Records. Results from this record-breaking effort will be passed on to their London office with additional documentation.
Postcards with the Fair logo will be available for free at the Record-Breakin' Station Saturday. They will be supplied by the Scotsman Pennysaver and Dupli Graphics, both members of the Central New York Postal Customer Council.
"Bring your own postcards, or use those that we have available, but you won't want to miss this record-breaking attempt at the State Fair," Ms. Weeks said. "And don't forget to send a postcard to yourself, as a keepsake of your participation in a Guinness World Record attempt."
The Record-Breakin' Station will not be a full-service post office, although Fair visitors are welcome to drop off letters ,cards or other items that need to be mailed, the station will only sell postcards and stamps for the record attempt."
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