Honolulu – The U.S. Postal Service will debut its Mobile Retail Unit (MRU) – a mini “post office on wheels” – at the 2019 Merrie Monarch arts festival in Hilo April 24-27.

The mobile unit, the first of its kind in Hawaii, will be located at the Merrie Monarch Hawaiian Arts Festival at Afook-Chinen Civic Auditorium, 323 Manono St., from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. April 24-26 and 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on April 27.

“This mobile unit will provide convenient one-stop shipping services for fairgoers as well as the many vendors at the event,” said USPS Marketing Manager Ramona Franco. “Instead of making the trip to the Hilo Post Office or paying luggage fees and stuffing their festival purchases into extra suitcases, fairgoers will be able to get their shipping done right after they shop.”

The USPS Mobile Retail Unit will provide shipping supplies – including USPS’s popular Priority Flat Rat Boxes – and be able to process both domestic and international transactions.

“Whether they’re shipping to Texas or Tokyo, our mobile unit will save our customers time and money.”

The unit, decked out in USPS colors and about the size of a large food truck, will be used at special events and whenever additional USPS retail services are required in Hawaii communities.

The Postal Service does not receive tax dollars for operating expenses; it relies entirely on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.