Editor’s note: This is Part 3 of a 5-part series leading up to the Antiques Appraisal Fair on April 25.
The Champaign County Historical Museum’s new spring fundraiser, Antiques Appraisal Fair, will be held in the museum on Thursday, April 25, from 6 to 9 p.m. The event, which will be patterned after the popular PBS series “Antiques Roadshow,” will be sponsored by the locally owned and operated Freshwater Farms of Ohio (fwfarms.com). All proceeds will benefit the museum located at 809 East Lawn Ave., Urbana.
“We hope that this new fundraising event will be a success,” stated Rob Pollock, event chair. “The funds raised will help keep our museum open to the public.”
Buzz Jackson
Five experienced appraisers will be positioned in locations throughout the museum to accommodate attendees by describing the history and estimated value of each item presented. The third appraiser highlighted is Buzz Jackson. Jackson has been a collector since 1968 with a specialty in military items, also known as militaria. He became interested in military items during the Centennial of the Civil War and has since become an expert on artifacts from all U.S. wars. Jackson has appeared on WGBH Television’s “Antiques Road Show” and brings that level of expertise to the Champaign County Antique Appraisal Fair. He looks forward to helping you learn what your prized possession is worth.
About the event
The price of is admission is $20 in advance, $25 at the door and includes one appraisal and a wine and cheese “bistro” provided by Freshwater Farms so that folks can socialize during the event and tour the museum rather than simply wait in line. Regarding the “show” component, an appraiser will be announced at five times throughout the evening; he will then present a special item to those gathered in the main meeting room.
Tickets may be purchased at the museum (Mondays and Tuesdays), at local banks – Civista, First Central National, Peoples, Perpetual, all county Security locations – and on line www.champaigncountyhistoricalmuseum.org. In addition to benefiting the museum and preserving its artifacts, this will be a fun event for people of all ages to enjoy and hopefully one that will build from year to year. This is an excellent opportunity to have a family heirloom, an item from the attic, or perhaps something found when spring cleaning to be evaluated.
