How ROADSHOW Finally Got to Alaska
It’s taken us nearly 17 years to realize the dream of reaching the 49th state, which began the day we returned from Hawaii in 2006. And for the final stop of our Season 28 tour, ROADSHOW is thrilled to be visiting Anchorage, Alaska!
Jul 10, 2023
BY Sam Farrell
For many Americans from the “Lower 48,” getting to Anchorage involves going west and turning right when you hit the Pacific. It’s a big trip for anyone but especially for Boston-based ANTIQUES ROADSHOW, produced by GBH.
It’s taken us nearly 17 years to realize the dream of reaching the 49th state, which began the day we returned from Hawaii in 2006, our final stop in Season 11. Anchorage is our last stop in Season 28.
We’ve been to almost every state (only Maine and Wyoming remain for us to visit), so to some degree, we had to go to Alaska. But there’s a great deal more pulling us towards this distant and captivating place.
At its heart, ROADSHOW is about meeting and getting to know people and, through their belongings, gaining an understanding of “material culture” and a glimpse of our collective humanity — of what makes us the same and what makes us different.
The call of the far north was strong. There are countless reasons for ROADSHOW to visit Anchorage. The breathtaking geography, complex history and rich culture of Alaska speak loudly to America’s infinite variety. Alaska is a state with the highest proportion of indigenous people in the US, and ROADSHOW is committed to visiting locations with diverse populations.
We repeatedly tried to find a way to get to Alaska. And we kept wishing. The breakthrough came when, after 22 years of producing our show at events held in convention centers, we decided to begin producing ROADSHOW outdoors. Suddenly we had so many more options! Open-air venues are much more plentiful, but we still had to find a way to finance the trip in order to get our two production trucks, 65 staff and crew, and 75 appraisers all up to Anchorage.
Just as we were building momentum toward making the journey, the pandemic hit. We had to solve a problem of a totally different sort. As the pandemic fog began to lift, the call of the north returned. Could we make the complex logistics and additional support come together for our 2023 production season?
Yes! In the end, we had a lot of support and advocacy from Alaska Public Media, and PBS agreed that it's finally time for us to realize our goal of bringing ROADSHOW to Alaska. Through AKPM, we got a huge lift from TOTE Maritime, who offered to ship our two production trucks from Seattle to Anchorage. And the last mile was donated by Carlile Transportation.
Our Alaska venue is the Alaska Native Heritage Center, which encourages people to come “expand their understanding of Alaska's indigenous people” and will provide an excellent backdrop to the programs ANTIQUES ROADSHOW will be premiering from Anchorage in 2024!
Sam Farrell is ANTIQUES ROADSHOW's senior producer. He's been a producer with the series since 2004.
