Back from the Michigan vacation!...(roadshow details)

THE ANTIQUES ROADSHOW ~Grand Rapids Michigan....well, this weekend, the hubby and I drove from Chicago to Grand Rapids..and had soo much fun...
It is a wonderful city...people are very nice and the weather this weekend was wonderful!

The ANTIQUE ROADSHOW was held at the Devos Center on Saturday the 9th. The way they do it is, you are assigned a time on your ticket that you are supposed to be at the auditorium. There are over 6000 people that show up for the day so they stagger the times. We had the 8:00 time slot. So we were early..and we got right in to a BIG auditorium.

Now, you line up with your items..those of you that want to go..you MUST bring something to carry your items in..they dont provide anything and it is tiring carrying your treasures for hours.
(If I ever go again..I WILL bring a gurnee to carry things!) Then, there are SOO many people and there are CAMERAS and TV crews everywhere..I must admit I was so excited that I got up SUPER early and I did my hair and makeup perfectly..and so did every other woman there!! ALL Of us looked sooo pretty so early in the morning! Then you talk with everyone in line..that is the best part! SO FUN when everyone shows all their treasures!!!

Everyone there is sooo excited and in really good moods ..and everyone wants to get picked to be on TV and so everyone leaves a bit disappointed when they are not picked.. (this is what I learned!)

Now, I had what I considered WONDERFUL treasures.
The doll that I showed in the last post was my 160 year old Sugar doll, that has been passed through generations in the family and still in the original box. I was sure there was nothing else like it and it would be worth lots of $'s! (you are allowed 2 items each) The other thing I brought was a folk art painting of Chatham Ho, my great great grandfather. It is a wonderful oil painting and sometime I will try to post a photo of it..but it is heavy and hard to carry. So I was glad we were in early. The hubby brought his favorite possessions, a signed photo of Jimmy Stewart in "THE" scene in "Its a wonderful life"..where he is kissing Donna Reed on the phone ("I dont want ground floors, and I never want to get married ever....oh mary, mary"..THAT scene) and it is a set photo where you see the camera and the director Frank Capra.. GREAT photo..and very unique..and it is autographed.
The other thing he brought was a letter from Jim Henson of the Muppets and instructions on how to make a puppet..it is signed and framed and really cool.

Ok...so we were in line for an hour in this LARGE waiting area..then we were sent to the set area..which is what you see on TV, and this is surprisingly small. Well, it is soo cool to see all the appraisers..you would recognize ALL of them...you want to say..oh I know YOU! but of course you dont because you would feel silly.

Then I went to get my most valuable possession "THE SUGAR DOLL" appraised..Secretly I was SURE they would want to do an entire episode of how wonderful this doll is.....
and then the appraiser says"..hmm...very unique..yes, I have never seen anything like this..and you have the original box..hmmm...it is probably marzipan...hmmm probably 1840 0r 1850...amazing it has survived that long...well ...it is worth..hmmm...about $200. Thank you"

and that was all...
talk about bummed out...$200? are you kidding me?
and then I learned ....that just cuz it is old and rare and to you the most wonderful thing...well that doesnt mean anyone else wants it...so..that was my sad story of the sugar doll. :(
then i went to get my Chatham Ho appraised..now that one was worth LOTS more and really valuable actually..and the man really liked it and he was so very nice..that i also showed him my sugar doll...and he also liked that...but no TV for me...so I must admit I was a bit disappointed (especially for the $200 appraisal!)

My hubby got his treasures appraised and the Jim Henson one came out on top...but no TV for him either...ah well...
so we got out of there at 9am. What was I going to do the rest of the day???
so I did what I always do....HUNTED FOR PHOTOS...that made me happy..and there were lots of out of the way places that I found them...and I have put here some of the beautiful photos I got from Grand Rapids...and then we even wen to the Museum and learned all about the area..and that was really neat too...

then we went back to the Roadshow (I just had to go back) and talked with all sorts of disappointed people that also didnt get on tv..and at the end of the day.. we didnt feel that bad and realized that our treasures were really worth alot (except for the sugar doll) and we had a great time..and not getting on tv was ok afterall...

and came back to Chicago on Sunday..a bit wiser in roadshow expectations..and full of lovely photos!!

Grand Rapids photos

So my advice is: GO TO THE ROADSHOW if you have a chance...bring a gurnee to carry things... and put your makeup on just in case you make in on tv...

cathi