We're all gonna be rich. The PBS series Antiques Roadshow is coming to Madison on July 11, so all we have to do is haul our old junk out of the attic, show it to the Roadshow appraisers, and find out how many thousands of dollars we can sell it for.
Okay, it might not be quite that easy. Sometimes the appraisers affirm that the old junk is just that -- old junk. But either way, Roadshow's 2009 tour will give Madison a chance to get in on the action. We're one of six cities in which the series will tape programs for its 2010 season, the others being Atlantic City, Raleigh, Denver, Phoenix, and San Jose.
Free tickets to the event must be obtained in advance via an online application process or by calling 1-888-762-3749. Tickets will be distributed at random to eligible entrants, with each ticket holder allowed to bring two items. All ticket holders are guaranteed an appraisal.
Antiques Roadshow last came to Madison in August 2000. Antique experts and dealers offered appraisals to over 7,000 attendees at the Alliant Energy Center, and the series picked the most interesting ones for the three Madison-based programs that aired in 2001. Highlights included a parasol given to the owner's great-great-grandmother by Queen Victoria, appraised at $2,000-2,500; a Norwegian fiddle appraised at $4,000; and comic strip illustrations by Winsor McCay appraised at $35,000. See this UW Extension press release for more information about the 2000 taping, which was broadcast over three episodes in spring 2001.
