"Let's bag work on Tuesday and go holiday shopping in Lambertville and New Hope," my friend Brooke Tarabour tempted me last December.

As a responsible elected official, I thought about the piles of unread material sitting on my kitchen table. I thought about the scheduled meetings, the endlessly ringing phone, the Coaster column waiting to be written. I immediately (of course) thought about my good-natured and generous husband, hopping a commuter van before dawn each day so that I can afford to spend four years on the City Council.

"Sounds great!" I enthused. "How soon can we leave?"

And that's how Brooke and I came to have lunch with her friends David Rago and Suzanne Perrault, a husband-and-wife team who own an antique gallery and auction business in Lambertville.

PBS viewers will also recognize them as two members of the popular Antiques Roadshow cast, with antique appraising specialties in porcelain, pottery, 20th-century furniture, cigars, wine, and tile.

Of course, the real trouble didn't begin until the subject of Asbury Park came up and David confessed to being a fan of Bruce Springsteen, who had just completed five holiday benefit concerts in the city.

From there it seemed like mere minutes before we were laying out plans for our own event: an "Asbury Park Roadshow" featuring appraisers from the Antiques Roadshow program, to benefit the city's 2003 recreation program.

"This will be a snap," we all agreed, "and lots of fun besides!"

David and Suzanne agreed to recruit appraisers from the Antiques Roadshow cast. The city offered the historic Paramount Theatre for the September 14 event. Brooke rounded up volunteer event planners from Family & Children's Service (F&CS) of Oakhurst and Long Branch, where she is executive director. Hillary Roberts, of F&CS's Volunteer Center of Monmouth County, convinced 70 more people to assist us on September 14.

And I found myself organizing Asbury Park tours, soliciting silent auction items, and hawking ads for the program journal, which Theresa Falcone of Tinton Falls generously volunteered to assemble.

"A snap!" Yeah, right.

So, nine months later, the Asbury Park Roadshow is coming together, and it promises to be a worthy successor to this summer's Springsteen excitement.

The F&CS troops have done an outstanding job, organizing the publicity, juggling the ticket sales, planning the September 14 logistics, and handling the accounting - all at no cost to the city.

David and Suzanne have gathered an exciting roster of Antique Roadshow appraisers including (in addition to themselves): Noel Barrett (toys), Nicholas Dawes (glass, pottery and porcelain), Chris Kennedy (20-th century items), Ramona O'Hara (paintings), Eric Silver (silver, metal, glass), Arlie Sulka (art glass), Kevin Zavian (watches, clocks), Berj Zavian (jewelry), and others.

Between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. on Saturday, September 14, these Roadshow celebrities will appraise the public's treasures from the Paramount stage, and will offer mini-tutorials on their specialties. And from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m. and 3 p.m. to 4 p.m., several of the appraisers will sell and autograph their books.

During the day, visitors can also sign up for one of three free tours: Stan Goldstein and Jean Mikle, authors of the recently released "Rock & Roll Tour of the Jersey Shore," will lead a walking tour to some of Asbury Park's premier rock-n-roll landmarks. Werner Baumgartner will offer tours of historic Convention Hall and the beautiful Paramount Theatre. Helen Pike, author of "Greetings from New Jersey: A Postcard Tour of the Garden State," will offer bus tours to fun and fascinating city sites.

Goldstein, Mikle and Pike will also sell and autograph their books in the Paramount mezzanine, and the Asbury Park Historical Society will offer their hot-off-the-press reprint of the 1930s photo book, "The Story of Asbury Park." Partial proceeds from all these merchandise sales, as well as food sales from local vendors, will also benefit the city's recreation program.

And the public can participate in a silent auction, with prizes including a dinner for two with Roadshow appraisers David and Suzanne.

The evening will end with a separate benefit at the Stone Pony, featuring some of the Roadshow appraisers and the band "Quiet Riot," for those who'd enjoy a jolt back to the present.

Advance tickets to the "Asbury Park Roadshow" at the Paramount Theatre are $20 for spectators and $40 for people who wish to have up to two items appraised. (Appraisal tickets are $50 on the day of the event.)

Additional appraisals are $10 each, and items must be small enough to carry in by hand.

Seniors receive a $5 discount on each admission ticket, and tours are included free with admission on a first-come, first-served basis.

Intrigued? Dust off those family treasures, and call F&CS's Linda Steel at 732-531-9111 for advance tickets and additional information. And, remember, in addition to helping generate fabulous publicity for Asbury Park, your ticket will support the city's 2003 recreation program.

By the time September 14 is over, Brooke and I will definitely need another day off, but we've agreed to head in separate directions this time. That last day of loafing was way too much work.