This popular TV show reaches 6 million viewers weekly. It will film 3 episodes in Boise

Michael Deeds
·2 min read

Start rummaging through your garage and shed — “Antiques Roadshow” is coming back to town.

The long-running PBS appraisal show will roll into the Idaho Botanical Garden, 2355 Old Penitentiary Road, on May 31.

While in Boise, “Antiques Roadshow” will film three episodes for its 27th season. The popular series airs at 7 p.m. Mondays on Idaho Public Television. It’s seen by around 6 million viewers each week.

Unlike the show’s stop at Expo Idaho in 2013, this event will not be open to the general public. It will be invitation-only because of the pandemic.

“Antiques Roadshow” previously filmed in Boise in June of 2013.
“Antiques Roadshow” previously filmed in Boise in June of 2013.

Want to attend, have your valuables appraised — and possibly appear in a TV episode? You can enter a ticket lottery at pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tickets for a shot at two free passes per household. It’s open through March 21. Winners will be randomly chosen, then notified in early April. Up to 1,800 pairs will be distributed.

A small number of tickets also will be given away to social media users who apply through Instagram and Twitter. That deadline is Feb. 28.

Up to 100 winners also will be chosen in a “Knock Our Socks Off” contest, too. Those will be based on submission of stories and items that appeal to the show’s producers. The rules are at pbs.org/wgbh/roadshow/tickets/rules/#KOSO.

“Antiques Roadshow” events will follow COVID-19 protocols for production of the show’s 27th season. Appraising and filming will happen mostly outdoors.

“Guests will receive a free verbal evaluation of their antiques and collectibles from experts from the country’s leading auction houses and independent dealers,” according to a press release. “Each ticketed pair of guests is invited to bring two items for appraisal, and must bring at least one item to be admitted to the event.”

When “Antiques Roadshow” filmed in Boise nearly a decade ago, thousands of enthusiasts turned out. They brought “everything from paintings and coins to postcards and campaign buttons to have them looked at by the celebrity appraisers,” the Idaho Statesman wrote.

Best of all? “The Boise stop yielded one of the highest-value finds of the season: an oil painting of an Italian landscape done by Hudson River artist Sanford Robinson Gifford that appraised for $300,000.”

In addition to offering tickets through the Boise lottery, “Antiques Roadshow” also is seeking volunteers to help at the Idaho Botanical Garden. Interested parties can register here.

Want more information about “Antiques Roadshow” events? Check out the FAQ page or phone (888) 762-3749.