This past June, as part of its 30th anniversary tour, Antiques Road-show, PBS’s beloved appraisal series, traveled to Vacationland for the first time. Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens in Boothbay was one of five stops on the show’s 2025 tour. (The other stops were in Savannah, Georgia; St. Louis, Missouri; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Charlevoix, Michigan.) When I heard the news back in January, I entered the raffle to win a ticket and put in a press request.

Antiques Roadshow is the only television show where I often get to see someone I used to work with. My kids and husband, unfortunately, are not impressed by my celebrity connections, but they do enjoy watching the show and seeing the shocking amounts some treasures are worth. Weeks after my press request, the WGBH press office finally replied, saying I could not only attend the show and but also bring two objects for appraisal. The only problem was, I didn’t have any family heirlooms or flea market finds that I didn’t already know the value of. 

As luck would have it, when my mom visited right before the show she brought with her, as a gift for my daughter’s birthday, a delicate jade bracelet my dad had given her 40 years ago. Then my husband decided it was the perfect time to unveil his secret collection of Egyptian knives (!), which he had amassed while living in Egypt with his family in the late 1980s. 

There was a considerable amount of traffic leading up to the Botanical Gardens entrance, where I was directed to a distant field to park my car. Of course, it was raining. I joined the swarm of people clutching their treasures (many wrapped in quilts to protect them from the elements) and walked over to the check-in area. After showing the greeter my two objects, I was directed to the Asian tent, where a familiar face caught my eye: Lark Mason, a longtime appraiser on the show and founder of iGavel Auctions. Seeing him brought back a flood of memories—Lark had been my mentor during a graduate school internship in 2006. We greeted each other, posed for a quick photo, and caught up.

Lark examined the Egyptian knives first, offering the kind of appraisal that only years of experience can deliver. “These are fun pieces,” he said with a smile, “but they were made for tourists—decorative more than valuable.” Then he examined the jade bracelet. Lark’s face lit up with interest. “This is actually a baby’s bracelet,” he explained, “originally intended as a protective charm. It appears to have broken at some point and was reset with gold, featuring good luck symbols. It’s quite lovely.” It was worth around $600.

With my items appraised, I wandered through other sections of the event, where the real treasures turned out to be the people behind the tables. I spoke with Suzanne Perrault of Rago Auctions, known for her expertise in ceramics and twentieth-century design. While I was at her table, she was appraising a pink and green Roseville vase with a cherry blossom pattern. Although these once fetched good prices at auction, their value has decreased in recent years. Nearby, Arlie Sulka of Lillian Nassau in New York—an expert in Tiffany glass and decorative arts—was examining a cobalt iridescent vase. Unfortunately, it was not a Louis Comfort Tiffany.

On the way out, I spoke with a few visitors about their appraisals. Some had been invited to the taping area for possible inclusion in the 2026 season, but most were just happy to be there for the experience: to engage with world-renowned experts, to share the story of how they acquired their objects, and to learn.