Bucket List

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Whether they are referred to as goals, dreams, aspirations, or just things we’d like to do someday, I believe most people have a bucket list—the term made popular by the movie titled such. I’m so excited to say an item will soon be crossed off my list. In two weeks I’ll be attending a taping of Antiques Roadshow! For any of you who enjoy that show, and want to know more about it, this post is for you.

My husband is the TV watcher in our family, but the Roadshow is the one show I tune into on a regular basis. A couple years ago, thinking it would be fun to see it in person, I checked into how to get tickets—which is through a lottery only. 

I put my name in the lottery last year, when filming was close to home, but didn’t win. This year, when I received the email inviting me to put my name in again, my state wasn’t included in the stops the show will make, but they will be in a neighboring one. (The show films in eight or so cities each year and creates three segments from each stop to air the following year.) I chose the closest city to me—about 400 miles away—subbed my information, and in all honesty, forgot about it. In mid-April I received an email telling me to check my ticket status, and to my dismay, I’d won two tickets!

Now I have the dilemma of what to take. I don’t believe I have anything that is a national treasure, but we do have several items we’d like to know more about. Like the old gun one of our grandparents found in a cave when he was a child. An art portfolio issued as a newspaper supplement in 1885. The tea set one of our grandmother’s received as a wedding present. A mountain man’s saddle, steel fishing poles, a child’s bullfighting suit each of my children wore for Halloween, a shoe shine box complete with all the tools, several Elvis collectables. With the passing of our parents and grandparents, we’ve inherited “things”, mainly with great sentimental value, and because I love browsing antique stores (I call it research), I’ve purchased several other unique things—like my 1906 cook stove and several Red Wing crocks I use for storage and end tables.

Roadshow instructions say I need to be able to carry whatever I bring and that I should be prepared to stand in line for extended amounts of time, so that eliminates plenty of items. My ticket provides me with an entrance time. Though the event will take place from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm, a specific number of people will be admitted each hour. Each participant is allowed to bring two items and every entrant is required to bring at least one. There will be approximately 70 appraisers covering about 20 different categories. The rules state entrants will be sent to category lines and if an initial appraiser believes an item is of special interest they will signal a producer who will guide the entrant into the ‘green room’ for a filmed appraisal. They see an average of 600 people per hour, so even if an appraisal is filmed, there is no guarantee it will be used in the final production.  There is a list of items, including coins, stamps, fossils, tools, cars, hazardous materials, and a few other things they will not provide appraisals for. They will only appraise items if the owner is present, and will not consider a person illegible for the green room if the owner already knows the current value of the item. Appraisers are not allowed to offer to purchase any items, however their contact information will be available at a table upon exiting the show if anyone is interested in contacting them at a later date. 

A friend will be attending the event with me—hubby has plans he can’t alter. We will travel on Friday, attend the show on Saturday, and return home on Sunday. I’ll update you on my adventure in my June post. Otherwise, feel free to friend me on facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/lauri.robinson1 for ongoing updates.