BOOTHBAY — Heavy fog and near-constant drizzle couldn’t dissuade Dana Dyer as she rolled through the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens on Wednesday hauling an old wooden weathervane in a small utility wagon.

She was on a mission to learn its value, and “Antiques Roadshow” appraiser Wes Cowan didn’t disappoint. He said the well-worn painted folk art piece — a whirligig featuring a biplane and spinning animals — was made in the mid-20th century and is worth $400 to $500.

But she won’t be selling it anytime soon.

“I love my whirligig,” the Poland resident said. “Coming to the Roadshow was on my bucket list. It was a little rough, waiting in the rain, but it was worth it.”

Dyer was among nearly 3,400 people who attended the first visit to Maine by “Antiques Roadshow” to record a fresh slate of appraisals for the 30th season of the popular PBS show, set to air early next year.

Executive Producer Marsha Bemko blamed the delay on a lack of convention centers in Maine and a variety of logistical challenges, especially since the show tries to hold appraisal events in five different regions around the U.S. each year.

“We needed the right venue,” Bemko said. “Now we’re doing outdoor events. It adds a nice dimension to the show. It gives us a great sense of place. We’re going to really get to know the gardens while we’re here.”

Maine is the fourth stop on the Roadshow’s 2025 appraisal tour, following visits to Savannah, Georgia; St. Louis and Salt Lake City. The next and final stop of the season is Charlevoix, Michigan, on July 1.

Bemko said the Maine event drew the second-highest number (17,736) of applications to the show’s free ticket sweepstakes this year, after St. Louis (19,837). The show distributed 2,500 pairs of tickets for Boothbay, with arrivals scheduled throughout the day. Each person was allowed to bring two items to be appraised.

About 65 appraisers were deployed under white tents to assess the value of antiques and collectibles in over 23 different categories. While the show’s website recommended wearing comfortable shoes and being prepared to wait in line, raincoats and umbrellas were necessary gear as well.

Bemko said most fans of the show wouldn’t be discouraged by inclement weather during the rain-or-shine event.

“People are so excited to meet our experts and learn about their items, they would tolerate a little rain,” she said.

Appraiser Leigh Keno told Carol Tanner, of Falmouth, that the antique ash basket she used as a bassinet for her four children “wasn’t worth much,” but she wasn’t disappointed.

“It was wonderful,” she said. “I was happy to be here.”

Ron Bancroft, of Cumberland, learned that his 1980s ceramic chess set, made by a Maine artist and fashioned after characters in the seaside town of Friendship, is worth $3,000 — about double what he paid for it.

“This was fun,” Bancroft said, smiling. “The weather could have been better.”

A woman from New Jersey brought a self-portrait by Inez Nathaniel-Walker, a self-taught African American folk artist who died in 1990 and developed her talent while imprisoned for killing a man who had abused her. The item was singled out for a recorded appraisal that may be included next season.

The woman said the experience moved her to tears. “It was amazing,” she said. “We didn’t know anything about the portrait. I didn’t see a signature, but there was a signature. It was really emotional, hearing the story of (Nathaniel-Walker’s) life.”

The woman said she signed an agreement with the show’s producers not to share her identity or the amount of the appraisal with the media. She said it was quite a bit more than she paid for the portrait, which she purchased at an estate sale in a lot of six items for $400.

Roadshow experts will appraise almost anything, except vehicles, stamps, stock certificates, paper currency, coins, bicycles, fossils, glass fire extinguishers, ammunition, explosives or any other hazardous materials, and items largely made of ivory, according to the website.

For Kevin Piccone and Lucinda Pyne, of Portland, watching “Antiques Roadshow” has been a favorite pastime since they met 27 years ago. The couple enjoyed seeing their favorite appraisers, including jewelry expert Kevin Zavian and poster expert Nicholas Lowry.

They thought nothing of the rain despite the long wait to enter the event.

“We were dressed for it and we just powered through,” Pyne said. “It was fun seeing all the people and what they brought to be appraised.”

The appraisers liked Pyne’s carved wooden vase — “they said it was cool and worth a couple hundred bucks,” she said.

Piccone learned that his late uncle’s 1950s Harley-Davidson leather motorcycle jacket is worth $1,200 to $1,500 – maybe more in Japan, where the company’s gear is extremely popular.

“It was fun to see the cast of characters,” Piccone said. “It was a good time.”

Editor’s Note: Did you learn your item is especially valuable or has an unexpected backstory? Tell us about it by emailing reporter Kelley Bouchard at [email protected].