|
The St. Lawrence Regional Group of BNAPS and the Kingston Stamp Club invite you to join us for BNAPEX + 2009 + SEAWAYPEX at the Ambassador Conference Resort in Kingston, Ontario, Canada from 11-13 September 2009.
For many BNAPS members Kingston is a short drive by car along Highway 401. VIA Rail trains from Toronto, Ottawa or Montreal stop only a few hundred yards from the Ambassador Resort. Kingston is also served by several daily Air Canada flights through Toronto or Ottawa.
The year 2009 is the 50th anniversary of the St. Lawrence Seaway, opened in July 1959 by Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip who toured the entire Seaway aboard the royal yacht "Britannia". The 5-cent Canadian stamp issued for the occasion became very famous when copies with inverted centres were found.
This year is also the 225th Anniversary of the founding of Kingston in 1784, although the city has a much older history. Fort Frontenac was established as a French fortification/trading post in 1673 but fell to the British army on 27 August 1758 during the Seven Years' War with France. A Royal Proclamation in 1763 recognized the Indians as owners of the land and forbade any white settlement west of the Ottawa River and west of the Appalachian Mountains. This, along with the Quebec Act of 1774, became a major reason for the war with the Thirteen Colonies as they restricted expansion westward.
Following the American Revolution, displaced United Empire Loyalists (UELs) living in Montreal and Sorel pressured the government to allow them to settle around the Cataraqui area. This required buying land from the First Nations, the Crawford Purchase in 1783. With royal assent on 12 June 1784, settlers were transported by boat up the St. Lawrence River to develop what became Kingston, the first official, permanent, settlement in Upper Canada.
The BNAPEX + 2009 + SEAWAYPEX organizing committee looks forward to seeing you in Kingston this September. Plan to come before and/or stay afterwards, using the Ambassador hotel as a base to explore the historical city and region. Please click on the Program button at left for details on convention activities and planned tours, and on the Attractions button for information on the many other activities that are possible in the Kingston area.
|
