The Auburn, Grass Valley and Nevada City Sports Cards & Pokemon TCG Expo sets up at the Nevada County Fairgrounds on Saturday, October 17, and it is the biggest hobby event the Gold Country hosts all year. The Nevada County Fairgrounds is a genuinely beautiful venue — pine-shaded, spread across a hillside, and widely considered one of the prettiest fairgrounds in California — which makes this the rare card show where the setting is part of the pitch. For Sacramento collectors it is an hour up Highway 49 and a completely different inventory pool from anything in the Valley.
That last point is the real reason to go. Foothill shows surface collections that never reach city floors: estate material, decades-old accumulations coming out of Nevada County attics, and vintage that has not been picked over by the same twenty Sacramento dealers. Sports tables carry baseball, basketball and football across all eras, with strong vintage Topps and Bowman representation, 1970s and 1980s stars, junk-wax boxes and modern sealed wax. Hockey, soccer, boxing, UFC and racing get real space. Graded slabs from PSA, BGS and SGC fill the cases. On the Pokemon side, expect sealed English product, Japanese imports, graded vintage holos and deep singles binders, alongside Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, Lorcana and Dragon Ball Z. Memorabilia, comics, Funko Pops and supplies vendors round it out.
Hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM on Saturday, October 17 — a full eight-hour single day, longer than most regional shows. Mid-October in the foothills means crisp air and turning leaves, and the show timing takes advantage: locals treat it as a day out rather than a quick stop, so the floor stays busy from mid-morning through mid-afternoon. Arrive at nine for the vintage; stay past three for the deals.
Admission has historically been a modest door charge at this expo with children admitted free, but the current price is not published. Bring cash for the door and for the floor — foothill dealers are more cash-oriented than city dealers.
The Nevada County Fairgrounds is at 11228 McCourtney Road in Grass Valley, roughly sixty miles northeast of downtown Sacramento via Interstate 80 and Highway 49, or straight up Highway 20 from Marysville. Parking is on-site with a modest fairground parking fee. The exhibit buildings are indoors and heated. Downtown Grass Valley and Nevada City, both worth an afternoon on their own, are five and fifteen minutes away respectively, with good restaurants on Mill Street and Broad Street.
Who should come? Vintage hunters should make this a priority — it is the single best chance in the region to find raw material that has not been through three dealers already. Families will enjoy the setting. Pokemon collectors get a surprisingly deep floor for a rural show, since the expo draws TCG vendors from Sacramento, Reno and Chico.
Tips: get there at open. Bring cash, a loupe and top loaders. Ask sellers where material came from — foothill shows have more genuine collection-out-of-the-attic stories than any other kind, and those tables are where the finds are. Check every table, including the ones with no signage. And build in time for lunch in Nevada City on the way home.
