What:

The U.S. Postal Service will celebrate Message Monsters with the most playful, customizable Forever stamp design ever. The four monster illustrations on this pane of 20 stamps invite interactivity with dozens of self-adhesive accessories on the selvage. The monster-ific accoutrements include cartoony voice balloons and thought bubbles with exclamations and salutations, hats and crowns, hearts, stars, crazy daisies and other fun flair.

Art director Antonio Alcalá designed the pane with original artwork by Elise Gravel, author and illustrator of popular children’s books.

The first-day-of-issue event for the Message Monsters Forever stamp is free and open to the public. News of the stamp is being shared with the hashtag #MessageMonstersStamps.

Who:

Jeffery A. Adams, vice president, corporate communications, U.S. Postal Service  

Angie Grau, owner, Paper June Books

Tom Underwood, executive director, NOTO Arts & Entertainment District

When:

Friday, Sept. 24, 2021, at 11 a.m. CDT

Where:

Redbud Park
924 N Kansas Ave
Topeka, KS 66608

RSVP:

Dedication ceremony attendees are encouraged to RSVP at: usps.com/messagemonsters.

Background:

The U.S. Postal Service unleashes the most playful, participatory postage stamps ever — stamps that welcome you to customize a collection of cute and crazy critters. They’ll ride through the mail, adapted by you, adding mirth to your messages.

The 20 Message Monsters on the pane, in four different designs, invite you to enhance your mail with the included adhesive accessories. These little monsters are totally adorn-able. Make them yours and they’re even more delightful!

The stamp designs start with the playful illustrations of Elise Gravel, whose characters are frisky, fresh and full of fun. Colorful characters populating the pane include a roundish, rosy rascal with a sunny tummy; a silly, striped imp waving a four-armed howdy; a squiggly, squid-ly yellow critter with enough eyes to go around; and a reddish rapscallion in short shorts. Whimsical, wacky and inviting your inventiveness, these creatures appeal across generations.

The Message Monster stamp dedication event falls during “Thinking of You Week,” which runs Sept. 20–26. It was first launched in the United Kingdom in 2014 and brought to the United States in 2018 by the Greeting Card Association. What better way to let someone know you’re thinking of them than to send a funny, friendly monster through the mail?

Preorders for the Message Monsters Forever stamps can be made online at usps.com/stamps beginning Aug. 30.

Customers may purchase stamps and other philatelic products through the Postal Store at usps.com/shopstamps, by calling 844-737-7826, by mail through USA Philatelic, or at Post Office locations nationwide.

The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage, products and services to fund its operations.

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