Bringing in the Year of the Rabbit at USPS National Archives0

The Kollaboration Atlanta staff was invited to be a part of USPS’ dedication of the “Year of the Rabbit” Lunar New Year Stamp at the National Archives in Atlanta. This event celebrated the first date-of-issue of the new stamp, distributed a limited edition commemorative stamp programs and also allowed the attendees to purchase as many stamps as they wished to buy. Kollaboration set up a small coloring booth for the kids who wanted to exhibit their artistic coloring skills and distributed different types of fruity Chinese candy. Our staffers Esther and Mary also assisted in judging a coloring contest, in which the winner received a ticket to Zoo Atlanta. The National Anthem at the National Archives was sung beautifully by our own Clara Hong (Kollaboration Atlanta 3 competitor) along with some adorable children from Families with Children from China North Georgia and The Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association of Augusta. There were a myriad of community leaders and honored guests at the event including:

• Kam Mak: Lunar New Year Stamp Artist,
• Ken Lee: OCA National President,
• BJ Pak: Georgia State Representative, District 102,
• Tricia Sung: OCA Georgia President & Executive Director of Asian Pacific American
• The Historical Society
• James J. McSweeney- Region Administrator National Archives at Atlanta.

There was also a traditional Chinese drum performance by the Taiwanese School of Atlanta. This year’s Lunar New Year stamp was issued on Jan. 22 and is one of the first all First-Class Mail commemorative stamps to be Forever stamps. Their value will follow the current First-Class Mail 1-ounce rate whenever the stamps are applied.