Home shows, garden-gear swaps and more

I hope your social calendar is open for the next few days. There are a lot of home-and-garden events happening around town.

-The Northwest Museum of Arts & Culture is holding its annual Antique Appraisal Days, where you can have an expert tell you the value of your great-Aunt Sophie’s diamond ring … or whatever other heirloom you’ve always wondered about.
Fine-art appraisal expert Margaret Minnick will lecture on the fine art market and interesting Northwest appraisals Friday at 7 p.m. (cost $25).
Then on Saturday, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Minnick and other experts will conduct 20-minute consultations with attendees. The MAC is reporting that those sessons are all booked, but it’s still fun to attend and watch as people learn that objects that have collected dust for years are worth hundreds of dollars—or more.
(509) 459-3931 or www.northwestmuseum.org for more information.

-The city of Spokane Valley is hosting a free Arbor Day event Saturday at Mirabeau Park’s picnic shelter from 10 a.m. until noon. Information about composting, energy conservation and recycling will be available, and there will be craft activities for children.
(509) 688-0232

-In Coeur d’Alene, the Northwest Lavender Guild is holding a Gardener’s Swap & Sale at the Kootenai County Fairgrounds on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Goods for sale or trade include plants, garden furniture, tools, books and birdhouses. Admission is free.
(208) 687-2274

-Also in Idaho, but further north in Sandpoint this time, is the Panhandle Building Contractors Association’s Home & Garden Show . The free (yes! free!) event will be held at the Bonner County Fairgrounds. Hours are 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday.
(208) 263-7559

-Back in Spokane, another home-and-garden show will run Friday through Sunday at the Spokane County Fair & Expo Center. This is the Spokane Home Builders Association’s Premier Home Improvement Show . Admission is $7 (children 12 and younger get in for free).
(509) 532-4990

-And the Grow Your Own Food series at WSU’s Spokane County Extension Office continues with a program on how to grow heirloom vegetables. The $10 class runs from 10 a.m. until noon at 222 N. Havana St.
(509) 477-2048

Anyone else know of an event worth mentioning here?