Atlanta Card Fest storms the Atlanta Expo Center for three massive days, October 16 through 18, 2026, delivering one of the biggest pure card events on the city's fall calendar. Produced by the Collect X Conventions team, Card Fest is built around the core of the hobby: aisle after aisle of dealers buying and selling trading cards, collectibles, and autographs, without the celebrity-photo-op overhead of the pop-culture cons. If your goal is simply to hunt cardboard at scale, this is the weekend.
The dealer floor spans the entire hobby. Sports cards dominate, with deep national and regional dealer representation across baseball, football, basketball, hockey, soccer, UFC, and boxing: vintage cases stocked with graded Hall of Famers, wax-era inventory by the box, and every current release from Prizm to Topps Chrome. The TCG footprint is substantial too, with Pokemon leading a lineup that includes Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh, One Piece, Lorcana, and Dragon Ball, in singles, slabs, and sealed form. Autograph dealers, memorabilia tables, grading-service presence, and breakers round out a floor built for serious volume.
Hours run Friday from 12 PM to 6 PM, Saturday from 10 AM to 6 PM, and Sunday from 11 AM to 4 PM. General admission starts around ten dollars per day, with VIP options that include entry one hour before general doors each day, and tickets are sold through the event's Eventeny page and the Collect X site. Kids typically enter cheap or free with a paying adult; check current ticket tiers before the weekend.
The Atlanta Expo Center at 3650 Jonesboro Road SE sits just off I-285 on the south side, ten minutes from the airport and easily reached from the entire metro. Parking is plentiful and the expo-hall format means wide aisles, concessions on site, and space for the crowds a three-day show draws.
Who should come? Everyone, but with different game plans. Serious collectors should buy the VIP early entry for Friday, when fresh inventory and motivated dealers produce the best deals of the weekend. Families will find Saturday the liveliest day, with the fullest floor and plenty of affordable material for young collectors. Bargain hunters should work Sunday afternoon, when dealers discount rather than repack. Sellers should bring their cards any day, as dozens of tables buy collections on the spot.
A few tips: buy tickets in advance to skip lines, bring cash in mixed denominations, and carry a want list to keep a floor this size manageable. Comp-check before big purchases, walk the full room before committing, and bring a sturdy box or bag for hauls. Pace yourself; three-day shows reward collectors who treat them as a marathon, not a sprint.
For tickets, vendor lists, VIP details, and schedule updates, check the Atlanta Card Fest page on Eventeny or the Collect X Conventions site before the weekend.
