NHL Fan Fair Will Include Upper Deck Cards, Autographs

 Content Originally Published by Sports Collectors Daily on Friday January 21, 2011.

The 2011 NHL All-Star Fan Fair in Raleigh, North Carolina will again have a hockey card flavor. Upper Deck, a fixture at the event for the better part of two decades, will be back with special redemption card handouts.

This year’s Fan Fair, which coincides every season with the NHL’s mid-season All-Star Game, is scheduled to take place from Friday, Jan. 28, through Sunday, Jan. 30, at the Raleigh Convention Center. Thousands of hockey enthusiasts are expected to attend the three-day extravaganza.

“Once again we’re extremely excited to have a major presence at the NHL’s biggest event,” said Jodi Wasserman, Upper Deck’s Director of Marketing. “We’re anticipating a great turnout, so we’ve come up with a highly sought-after lineup of All-Star redemption card sets to hand out each day of the show.”

During each day of the show – from Friday through Sunday – Upper Deck will be conducting its foil pack wrapper redemption program. Fans who open three packs of any 2010-11 Upper Deck hockey product (except for Victory) at the Upper Deck booth will receive one commemorative 2011 three-card All-Star pack.

Redemptions will be limited to one of each pack per person, per day, while supplies last. Pack 1 includes Carolina Hurricanes center Jeff Skinner, NHL legend Gordie Howe and current All-Star Sidney Crosby of Pittsburgh; Pack 2 features ‘Canes goaltender Cam Ward, hockey icon Bobby Orr and perennial All-Star Alex Ovechkin of Washington; while Pack 3 spotlights fellow Carolina center Eric Staal, hockey great Wayne Gretzky and Tampa Bay superstar Steven Stamkos.

As an added bonus at this year’s show, collectors who open one hobby box of any 2010-11 Upper Deck hockey product at the company’s booth will receive a limited-edition commemorative card, while supplies last, featuring Hurricanes teammates Staal and Ward along with retired Hurricane Ron Francis.

In addition, Upper Deck will be conducting two one-hour autograph signings at its booth. On Friday, starting at 4 p.m., Jeff Skinner will be signing oversized Upper Deck cards free of charge, while Edmonton Oilers rookie standout Taylor Hall will be doing the same on Saturday, beginning at 2 p.m. No other items will be permitted at the signing.

The Upper Deck booth will also be showcasing several new Upper Deck Authenticated (UDA) hockey items including autographed breaking throughs, acrylic blade pieces, and Curve displays. A newly released 2011 UDA calendar will be given away free with the purchase of any UDA memorabilia piece.

Finally, as in years past, Upper Deck will be conducting its P-Card (Personalized) trading card station, handing out free hockey cards samples, and conducting contests every day with prizes being awarded.