Fair offers fun with philately

Fair offers fun with philately

 Thailand's biggest event for postage stamps is back. Collectors should not miss the 17th Thailand Philatelic Exhibition (ThaiPex '11) being held from 10am to 8pm, today to Aug 10, at Lifestyle Hall and Lifestyle Galleries 1-2, Floor 2, Siam Paragon.

This event is held every two years by Thailand Post and the Postage Stamp Collectors' Association of Thailand with the aim of tracing the history and evolution of stamps and postal services, disseminating knowledge, promoting public awareness and developing the stamp collecting circle in Thailand.

A highlight will be a duel between two likay troupes - National Artist Boonlert Nartpinit's Troupe and Sornrak Troupe - scheduled for 2-4pm on Saturday and Sunday. There will also be exhibitions, stamp contests and knowledge-sharing sessions by stamp collectors and the general public. A special corner for children will let them experiment and learn about searching for and collecting stamps.

On Saturday from 10am to 12:30pm, there will be a discussion with stamp gurus about rare stamps featuring His Majesty the King.

To commemorate the occasion, Thailand Post has introduced a set of postage stamps portraying traditional performing art, likay, under the theme of Thai entertainment, singing and dancing.

This set comprises four stamps. Two of them depict an actor and an actress wearing extravagant costumes from the likay song kruang period. They dance in the sod soi mala and naeb ok postures. The other two depict an actor and an actress in diamond-studded costumes from the phet (diamond) period. They dance in the "at war" and jeeb na jeeb lang postures. Each stamp costs five baht, and the entire set is 30 baht.