MAC offers its local version of ‘Antiques Roadshow’

If you watched “The Antiques Roadshow” episodes filmed in Spokane that aired recently and are eagerly awaiting the final installment on Monday, you know that thousands of treasure-hunting hopefuls lined up to hear what the experts had to say about their garage-sale finds, dumpster-diving treasures or family heirlooms.

The city set a record for ticket requests, but when the show pulled out of town, there were many disappointed people who didn’t get a shot at getting good news.

Well, on Saturday, you will get a second chance.

It’s not the big one – the public television crew – this time, but the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture will open its doors for the annual Appraisal Day event.

For nine years the museum has brought in local and regional experts to give oral appraisals to interested participants.

For $10 per item, with a maximum of five items, appraisers will evaluate antiques and collectibles. All funds raised will benefit the museum’s Campbell House exhibit.

Patti Larkin, curator of Campbell House, the 1898 house designed by Kirtland K. Cutter, says the museum is hoping that the excitement of last summer’s “Roadshow” event and the current broadcasts of the Spokane segments will encourage people to come to the museum.

“In addition to providing an entertaining chance to find out if Grandma’s teapot might be worth a fortune, Antique Appraisal Day encourages an appreciation of our family and community treasures, regardless of their monetary value,” Larkin says. “It’s an opportunity for families to share the stories of their treasures with each other, and to learn a bit more about the objects themselves.”

As an added bonus, one of the appraisers who will be at the MAC is Kathleen Bailey. Bailey, who specializes in glass, pottery, silver and other items, has participated in the past 12 seasons of “Antiques Roadshow” and was in Spokane for the show’s taping.

Bailey is happy to be back in Spokane.

“What I enjoy about this particular appraisal event, (is that) a group of dealers and appraisers come together for a day and offer the public the opportunity to find out more about their wonderful treasures,” Bailey says. “The most fun is when a client arrives with an item that none of us recognize – the detective in each appraiser raises their brows and the search begins. Is it good news or bad news?”

At the end of the day, Larkin is hoping to raise enough money from the event to reproduce the Campbell House servants’ dining room wallpaper.

“(It was) a geometric patterned paper of dark greens and maroons,” Larkin says, “mimicking the patterns of a Persian rug.”