The Crispy Cardboard Cards and Collectibles Show is the Monterey Peninsula's recurring hobby gathering, and the August edition lands on Saturday, August 22 at the Monterey Beach Hotel. It is an easy add-on for Central Valley collectors — roughly two and a half hours from Fresno on Highway 152 — and it pairs a genuinely good dealer floor with a coastal setting that makes the drive feel less like an errand and more like a day out.
Crispy Cardboard built its reputation on sports cards, and that remains the backbone of the show. Tables carry baseball, basketball and football across every era: vintage Topps and Bowman, junk-wax-era team sets priced to move, star rookies from the 1980s and 1990s, and current-year sealed product. Hockey, soccer, golf, boxing and UFC each get real representation rather than a token box. Graded slabs are well represented, with PSA and SGC inventory in the cases and a healthy supply of raw material for collectors who prefer to grade themselves. Alongside the sports side you will find trading card game vendors handling Pokemon, Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece, plus memorabilia, signed photographs, comics, Funko Pops and hobby supplies.
This is a single-day event. Doors open at 10:00 AM. The published closing time varies by edition, so treat the late afternoon as the wind-down window and plan to be on the floor well before then. Attendance builds through late morning and peaks around midday, which is when the floor is most social and the trading is most active.
Admission pricing has not been published for this edition. Crispy Cardboard shows have historically run either free entry or a low single-digit door charge, with children admitted free. Confirm on the show listing before you travel, and bring a little cash for the door either way.
The Monterey Beach Hotel sits on Monterey Bay along Del Monte Avenue, a short drive from Cannery Row and the Monterey Bay Aquarium. On-site parking is free and generally adequate, though the lot fills as the show peaks — arriving early solves it. The show floor is indoors and climate-controlled. If you are making a day of it, the aquarium, Fisherman's Wharf and the Old Fisherman's Grotto restaurants are all within ten minutes, and plenty of attendees build the show into a family outing rather than a solo card run.
Who should come? This is a strong show for mid-level collectors — people with a real want list and a few hundred dollars to spend who want to talk to dealers rather than compete with a scrum. Families do well here because the venue is calm and the drive out is scenic. Dealers and heavy buyers should note that inventory turns over meaningfully between editions, so a return trip in September is worthwhile.
Practical advice: bring cash, bring a want list, and bring top loaders. Ask dealers what they are looking for — Crispy Cardboard has an unusually trade-friendly crowd and cash is not the only currency on the floor. Check the cases before the boxes; the best vintage tends to be under glass. And if you are driving over from Fresno, leave early enough to beat Highway 152 weekend traffic through Pacheco Pass.
Details and future dates are posted on Treasure Hunter and on the promoter's Instagram.
