SARATOGA SPRINGS — Antique dealers from throughout the Northeast and Midwest were unloading their treasures Thursday for the 38th annual Saratoga Springs Antique Show at the Canfield Casino in Congress Park.

The show starts at 5 p.m. tonight with a wine tasting preview and continues from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.

The Saratoga Springs History Museum hosts the event, which is one of the museum’s major fund raising events of the year.

“We work an entire year to get ready,” said James Parillo, executive director of the history museum, which is located in the Canfield Casino.

“The show is widely recognized for both the quality of the exhibitors and for the architectural splendor of its setting,” Parillo said. The show is held in the ballroom and gaming parlors of the 19th century Canfield Casino.

Parillo said 30 dealers will be showing at this year’s event. They come from Michigan, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Connecticut, and many locations in New York State including the greater Capital Region.

Many have come to the Saratoga show for years but several are brand new this year, including Kings Arms Ltd from Weehawken, N.J.

Kings Arms specializes in old, historic prints, lithographs and maps, some dating back as far as the 18th century. Parillo said history buffs enjoy going through such collections in search of old maps, some describing long ago battles.

Lucia Colwell from Delmar is coming to the show for the first time with her collection of antique quilts and Noble Peddler Antiques, a large antiques dealer from Torrington, Conn., is bringing some of its collection to the show.

The show include fine estate and landmark silver, antique furnishings for the home, jewelry, china, equestrian prints and books and unusual gaming artifacts.

Wally Allerdice III, who is a member of the Historical Society of Saratoga Springs, is show chairman for the second year in a row.

“There is quite a bit of work involved,” Allerdice said on Thursday. He and other volunteers from the historical society were helping the dealers set up their exhibits.

Allerdice praised Parillo and his small staff for their year-long work on the show.

He said about eight volunteers helped with the set-up on Thursday and other volunteers from the historical society will help staff the show through the weekend.

Parillo said the first antique show was held in 1971 and organized by Minnie Bolster of Saratoga Springs, a long-time historical society member. Bolster chaired all of the early shows.

Bolster, herself an experienced antique collector, remains involved in planning the annual show. Parillo said that he met with Bolster recently and, through her, he was able to recruit two or three antique dealers who hadn’t shown in Saratoga Springs in recent years.

Tonight’s wine tasting reception will include New York State wines from the Finger Lakes, the Hudson River Valley and Long Island as well as some wines from Spain and Chile available, Parillo said.

The preview runs from 5 to 8 tonight and allows those attending to get the first crack at purchasing the antiques on display.

Tickets for the preview are $40 at the door and includes the wine tasting, cheeses and crudites. The Cremisio Jazz Trio from Clifton Park will provide live music for the preview.

Tickets to show are $7 per person on Saturday and Sunday.

The museum generally grosses between $30,000 and $40,000 by hosting the show. Parillo said this is about one-third of the museum’s annual budget.

For more information on the Web see: www.saratogahistory.org.