Fair for Fair Prices

Is your attic filled with cast-off gee gaws from your parents or grandparents? You could be sitting on some extra cash. Find out this weekend at the Antique Appraisal Fair at the Saginaw Art Museum. From 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., professional appraisers will be on hand to give estimates on jewelry, textiles, vintage toys, guns, record players, sterling silver, porcelain and pottery, among other categories. The $5 per-item appraisal fee will go toward funding the permanent collection at the museum, which now houses an array of 15th-through 20th-century American and European paintings and sculptures. The museum also owns an extensive collection of treasures from China, India, Japan, and Korea, including woodcuts and textiles.

GO Michigan Antique Appraisal Fair runs 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23, at the Saginaw Art Museum, 1126 N. Michigan Ave. For more info, call 989-754-2491 or go to saginawartmuseum.org

While You’re in the Area: Check out Art in the Winter Garden at Midland’s 110-acre Dow Gardens (1809 Eastman Ave., Midland, 989-631-2677, dowgardens.org). The 13-piece exhibit of mixed-media art by Midland artist Victoria Billinghire includes work in burlap, ceramic, and wood with pieces in both the Dow Gardens Conservatory and along the Estate Garden Loop. On Saturday, Feb. 23, join the Birds & Bagels Hike offered by Midland’s Chippewa Nature Center (400 S. Badour Rd., 989-631-0830, chippewanaturecenter.org). From 8 to 10 a.m., the naturalist Janea Little will lead a winter birding trek in search of woodpeckers, Snow Buntings, cardinals, and blue jays. You can borrow binoculars and snowshoes, in the event of heavy snows. And yes, there will be refreshments—including bagels, of course—at the hike’s end.

Where to Stay: The H Hotel (111 W. Main St., Midland, 866-611-5231, thehhotel.com) has 131 luxurious guestrooms in the heart of downtown Midland; rates range from $129 to $199 per night. Chesny’s Kenswick Manor (1800 Center Ave., Bay City, 989-893-6593, kenswickmanor.com) has four suites in a fin de siècle mansion that was once home to a Bay City mayor; rates are $400 a night and $650 for two nights.

Where to Eat: Jake’s Old City Grill (100 S. Hamilton St., Saginaw, 989-797-8325, jakesforsteaks.com) offers both traditional steakhouse fare and seafood (bourbon glazed salmon, scallops seared with roasted red pepper or pesto). Table (111 W. Main St., Midland, 989-633-6099, thetable.com) serves innovative takes on traditional entrees (slow-cooked braised rabbit, scallops with truffle oil and crab and cauliflower gratin).

Photograph: Courtesy of the Chippewa Nature Center