The First Friday Trade Show turns a Friday night in northwest Tampa into a four-hour trading card party, and it is one of the few evening card events anywhere in the Tampa Bay area. Hosted by Personal Pitstop Express in partnership with Charlie's TCG Con, the show runs from 7:00 PM to 11:00 PM on Friday, September 4, 2026, inside a large lighted and cooled party tent on the Personal Pitstop Express property at 9401 W Hillsborough Avenue. It is a deliberately different format from the hotel-ballroom and fairgrounds shows that dominate the local calendar, and the after-dark timing makes it an easy stop for collectors who work weekdays and cannot get to a Saturday morning show.
The floor holds up to nineteen vendor tables, which keeps things browsable rather than overwhelming. The confirmed card mix leans heavily modern TCG: Pokemon, One Piece, Yu-Gi-Oh!, Riftbound, Dragon Ball, and Disney Lorcana, plus assorted related collectibles. Expect a normal show-floor spread of binders, display cases, graded slabs, sealed product, and bulk boxes, though individual inventory varies by vendor and nothing specific is guaranteed. With a table count this manageable, the smart play is a full lap first to see everything on offer, then a second pass to revisit the two or three tables that actually match what you collect.
General admission is $10 and all ages are welcome. Every paid admission includes one raffle ticket handed out at the entrance, and raffles are drawn hourly through the night, so hold onto that ticket. Tickets can be bought in advance through the organizer's official event page, and advance buyers should have their receipt ready at the door.
Parking takes a little planning and is the one thing to get right before you leave home. The designated free event lot is NOT at the show address — it is at 10061 W Hillsborough Avenue, Tampa, FL 33625. The organizer describes the walk as roughly seven minutes, and complimentary limo shuttles run between the lot and the venue about every ten minutes. Build in an extra fifteen minutes for parking and the shuttle hop so you are not rushing your first pass through the tent.
Beyond the tables, the night is built to feel like a community event: a food truck on site, music, event lighting, and a complimentary car wash for attendees. That mix makes it a reasonable outing for families and for collectors who want the social side of the hobby as much as the buying.
This show suits newer collectors especially well. The compact size makes it easy to ask a vendor how they grade a card's centering or surface without feeling like you are holding up a line, and seeing multiple copies of the same card in person tells you far more than a marketplace photo. If you plan to trade, sort your binder before you arrive and know exactly which cards are available and which are not. Bring a compact trade binder rather than your whole collection, since you will be carrying it through the parking lot and shuttle. A few spare sleeves and toploaders will protect anything you pick up on the way home. Follow Personal Pitstop Express online for vendor announcements and any weather updates before you head out.
