2020 Chicagopex Canceled

This saddens me. Just announced. CHICAGOPEX, originally scheduled for November 20-22, 2020, has been canceled.

I didn't think shows would get canceled this far out.

*sigh*

Why?

COVID-19.

I wonder if this was a show decision or caused by local/state rules.

Doubtful. I'm in Illinois and the state has not been locking down again. We're 4 months out, so I'm a bit surprised, but it's possible concern was raised by enough dealers, or reduced capacity due to social distancing requirements may have forced the decision.

Also, while a subsequent stimulus act was planned to include liability protections for businesses or events that opened up, that never occurred. Alll it would take is 1 or 2 people believing they got COVID-19 at the event to sue and put the show down forever.

The department I work for made the decision to make all events virtual through the end of this calendar year for precisely this reason. Too risky from an organizational liability standpoint, regardless of how you personally feel about the risk or restrictions.

Why not liability waivers?

Dunno. Uncertainty as to whether they would stand up in court, depending on the wording or the provisions?

Perhaps the dealers and sponsors figured that traveling stamp collectors, being older, maybe wiser, and certainly more vulnerable would pass on attending the show.

I suspect that it is also about locking in hotel rooms; there is usually a time limit after which the show is responsible for them. I really was not surprised under the current conditions to hear this. Hopefully 2021 will be a great year for shows and all will have record crowds; I'm sure many of us are itching to go to a show at this point.

Dan,

I'm really disappointed too - one of my favorite shows.

My understanding is that the show hotel is still closed and a reopening date hasn't been confirmed.

Charles Berg gave me permission to share his email from yesterday.

Steve Taylor
www.stephentaylor.co.uk

CHICAGOPEX DEALERS:

When the COVID-19 pandemic broke earlier this year – and stamp shows began to be cancelled - the Chicago Philatelic Society [CPS] hoped that things would be sufficiently under control by the late dates for CHICAOPEX '20 [November 20-22] that the show could be held. The current circumstances make it clear that the show cannot be held – and CHICAGOPEX '20 is hereby cancelled. The reasons are quite evident:

[1] It is hard to imagine a "more elderly" [hence more at-risk of COVID-19 infection] gathering of people than a group of stamp collectors and stamp dealers [too many of whom have underlying medical conditions].

[2] No vaccine against the coronavirus will be available in the "near future" [which at best will be next year] – nor will any significant degree of "herd immunity" be established. Treatments continue to evolve – but there are no sure-fire treatments for the infection yet.

[3] At this moment, the US [in particular] is seeing a significant reversal of what looked like a successful attempt to control the spread of the virus – in about 40 states! Hospitals and emergency rooms are nearly over capacity in some of the hardest-hit cities.

[4] This reversal is so significant, that last week the mayor of Chicago imposed a 14-day quarantine on persons arriving by air from the 15 most-affected states.

[5] While Illinois has been slowly reopening, severe limitations on the allowed size of gatherings will doubtless still be in place in November. In the current Stage 4, indoor gatherings are permitted to the "lesser of up to 50 people OR 50% of overall room capacity." Legislation has been proposed to increase these limits – but its passage is unsure.

[6] Anecdotally, 20 members of one local club were recently polled as to whether they would attend a show at this moment: 2 said "maybe" and 18 said "no way."

[7] A significant number of CPS and CHICAGOPEX committee members have already said they would not attend a show this year [or cannot, given their economic problems caused by the pandemic].

Of the 9 judges for the philatelic exhibits, one has already withdrawn – and three have now expressed "strong reservations" since they are in the high-risk age group. The exhibits themselves are lagging badly.

[9] The St. Louis Expos is still [re]scheduled for mid-August. Its results [dealer and collector attendance] will be interesting to see – but may be too late to factor into our decision about CHICAGOPEX.

[10] Some of you dealers have expressed a strong hope that CHICAGOPEX could be held [by this time, we all need some sales!] However, one local dealer has already told me he would not participate this year; another local dealer said he would not participate in any show that required him to travel by air.

[11] Finally, as one of our dealers discovered yesterday, the Westin has all of its eating establishments closed at this time and is NOT booking anything but very small meetings – and they are not sure when that will change.

There have been suggestions as to how a show could be held at this time, e.g., requiring masks for all, providing lots of hand sanitizers, installing plexiglass barriers between all booths, requiring all who come to sign a waiver not to sue us if they come down with the virus after attending the show, taking temperatures of arriving dealers and collectors, etc. However, there would be major issues for the bourse space [the exhibit area, not so much: "social distancing" has long been in evidence in those areas!]. Moving half of the dealers out of the main room has been suggested – but to where [and who will accept being put into a "side" room?]? It has been suggested that people be stationed by the doors to count and control the number of people allowed in the room at one time; Walmart has been doing this – creating long lines outside awaiting admission [which could be a real problem – given the notorious impatience of stamp people]. But if we are held to a max of 50 people in the room – not the 50% of last year, as some have suggested – that would mean 25 one-man dealers and 25 customers at a time!

The bottom line is that it is impossible to hold any show until a vaccine is in full use. With the current level of health concerns, there is no way to know what attendance we would have – or what sales dealers would have. And with any significant reduction in the number of participating dealers, CPS would not have enough income to stage the event – and participating dealers would not have enough sales to justify their participation.

For those of you have had made a deposit for the 2020 show, we will of course refund your deposit – or put it towards your having a booth at CHICAGOPEX in 2021. Please let me know your preference.

Charles Berg

Bourse Chairman

Thanks for the post from the Bourse Chairman.

Interesting to see the thinking behind the decision. Me thinks that pinning future shows on a vaccine hope will only lead to disappointment.

There is really no other way to go. Without one more locations will end up like Florida, Texas, Arizona, and all the other states where the numbers continue to rise. This is not going away without one.

I agree. That one statement stood out to me. My boss uses the same line of thinking, e.g., "We can only return to normal once a vaccine is available to the public." That assumes that an effective vaccine will be developed and readily available.

Depending on the nature of the virus and its evolution, there may NEVER be a truly effective vaccine. That cannot be an absolute line-in-the-sand litmus test for resuming economic activity.

That doesn't mean you shouldn't be prudent or cautious. That doesn't mean not postponing or canceling 2020 events. But to set that up as an absolute criterion for continuing beyond 2020 is IMO a mistake.

All things considered, we are still in the very early stages of understanding this virus, its pervasiveness, its resiliancy, and its behavior in various populations and environmental conditions. To couch ANY pronouncements in terms of absolutes is a mistake. We don't yet know the answers.




There's more to this than raw # of cases. The nature of the current numbers is very different from what was seen at the outset. While there are surges in confirmed diagnosed cases, there are far few serious cases requiring hospitalizations and deaths continue to decline. A much higher percentage of cases now are asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. Does that mean we are starting to develop herd immunity? I don't know.

Opinions vary depending on source and agenda as to which numbers are important and how to interpret them, let along how to act upon them.

I agree that erring on the side of caution is prudent for now, but these aspects could change in a heartbeat and the parameters we are working with 3 months from now could be radically different from what they are to day or what they were 3 months ago.

Having gone through the decisionmaking process firsthand regarding public events for our education seminars from the onset planning for a June series of seminars to planning for our November events, I've seen major changes in interpretation and criteria.

This is evolving and will continue to do so. What is cautious today may be overreaction (or even underreaction!) 6 months from now.

Anyone who claims to know the absolute truth of what will or will not happen is either stupid or lying.

"there are far few serious cases requiring hospitalizations"

Not at all correct. Hospitalizations are increasing, not dropping.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/08/heal...y/index.html