13th Annual Montana Pro Rodeo

The 13th annual Montana Pro Rodeo Hall and Wall of Fame Scholarship Fundraiser, Banquet and Gathering will be held today on January 30, 2016 at the Holiday Inn Grand in Billings, MT. It is the largest state high school rodeo scholarship program in America.

Holiday Inn Grand, one of the largest hotels in Billings, was recently sold for 7.85 million dollars at an auction and is in the process of conversion to Radisson.

I picked up this event card at the 2015 National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas.

Update: the card was later sent as US-3934044 to California.

Scale the Strat

Scale the Strat is one of the Fight for Air Climbs fundraising events for the American Lung Association. The Fight for Air Climbers climb up prominent skyscrapers, observation towers, stadiums and arenas in so called "vertical road race." 

In the 7th Annual Scale the Strat today, competitive teams and individual stair climbers, race up 1455 steps inside the Stratosphere Tower core to reach the Level 108 observation deck, raising funds to provide life saving education, research and advocacy in Southern Nevada. Sproule Love from New York won the men's division with a 7'22" time. Stephanie Hucko from Charlotte, NC was the first woman to reach the top in 8'52".

Postcard US-2371131 to Poland shows the Stratosphere Casino, Hotel & Tower at 2000 S Las Vegas Blvd, Las Vegas, NV 89104.

Ho Ho Ho

It is the time of the year again to join more than 10,000 Santa lookalikes to run 5K or walk 1 mile in the annual Great Santa Run in Las Vegas, Nevada, and get a special postmark on your mail from Santa Claus Station, Santa Claus, Indiana.

In its 10th anniversary at downtown Las Vegas, the Great Santa Run, is a fundraiser event for Opportunity Village, a nonprofit organization founded 60 years ago in 1954 that serves almost 3,000 people with intellectual disabilities with vocational training, employment opportunities, enrichment services and other supports. (Update: the number of runners in 2014 was tallied as 8725)

The Great Santa Run in Las Vegas, 2014

In Santa Claus, Indiana, the famous small-town post office Santa Claus Station, the only one in the world bearing the Santa Claus name, is offering a special pictorial postmark on holiday mail again this year, continuing a tradition since 1983. Every year, the holiday postmark is designed by a local high school art student during an annual contest. Shyann Smith, a 2014 senior at Heritage Hills High School from Fulda, Indiana won the 2014 competition. The postmark is available from December 1 to December 24.

Postmaster Marian Balbach asks anyone who requests the special cancellation to follow the guidelines:

• Allow at least a 2-inch by 4-inch space in the stamp area for the picture postmark;
• Apply postage to cards or letters before bringing or mailing them to the post office;
• If you wish to mail Christmas cards to the post office, package them—with postage stamps already on them—in a sturdy envelope or box, and mail to: Postmaster, Santa Claus Station, Santa Claus, IN 47579-9998;
• The picture postmark is available on working days between December 1 and 24;
• The picture postmark must be requested by the postal customer;
• To ensure a good postmark imprint, do not enclose large or bulky items in your holiday mail (Ex: reindeer food, snowflakes, glitter, stickers, etc.);
• There is no charge for postmarking; however, there is a limit of 50 picture postmarks (hand cancellations) per person per day.

Postcard US-2452330 to Taiwan was sent in to the Santa Claus Station for its 2013 edition of the special cancellation, replacing a prior Flying Jenny card presumably lost in the mail.

Happy Valentine's Day

In this Valentine's Day, we feature postcard US-1823773 to Germany that shows a heart-shaped sculpture at the corner of Union Square in San Francisco. Every year, a set of 5-foot, 400-pound hearts are made, painted by local artists, and put on display around various city locations in San Francisco. They are auctioned off to raise funds for San Francisco General Hospital Foundation. The picture on the card was taken on June 24, 2012.

You can find more pictures of the hearts at other locations from a post I Left my Heart in San Francisco at blog Little Hiccups.