The Mom and Pop Card Show is what happens when a card show trades the hotel ballroom for a brewery taproom, and the Houston edition returns to Bad Astronaut on Sunday, October 11, 2026. It is a single-day, Sunday-afternoon event with a deliberately casual feel: vendors set up around the taproom and patio, food is on site, and the crowd skews toward collectors who want to browse and hang out rather than sprint a convention floor. For anyone who finds big shows exhausting, this is the antidote.
The collecting mix is broad for an event this size. Sports cards are well represented — MLB and Astros material especially, plus NFL, NBA, and a mix of vintage and modern across raw singles, graded slabs, and sealed product. Trading card games are a major part of the show as well, with Pokemon and One Piece regularly on the floor alongside other TCG singles and sealed items. Because the vendor count is smaller than a convention show, the tables that do set up tend to be curated rather than sprawling, and prices are often more conversational.
Hours are 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Tickets and vendor tables are sold in advance through the organizer at momandpopcardshow.com, and walking up is generally possible as well, but buying ahead is the safer play for a venue of this size. Because the show is hosted in a brewery, adult beverages are available for those of age, and food trucks or kitchen service are typically on hand. Families are welcome; just note that the venue is a working taproom rather than a dedicated event hall.
Bad Astronaut Brewing sits in the Spring Branch area of Houston with its own lot and street parking nearby. The indoor and outdoor footprint means the show has a genuinely different rhythm from a ballroom event — people sit down, talk, compare pulls, and go back for a second lap. Several Houston collectors treat it as a standing social event rather than a buying trip.
Who this show is for: casual collectors, people newer to the hobby who want a friendly first experience, and experienced collectors who enjoy the community side as much as the transactional side. It is less ideal if you need hundreds of tables and a deep vintage selection — for that, the larger Houston convention shows are the better fit. Set expectations accordingly and you will have a good afternoon.
Tips: arrive near opening if you want first look at fresh inventory, since a smaller floor turns over quickly. Bring cash and a short, specific want list. If you plan to trade, bring a compact binder rather than a full case, because table space is tighter than at a convention show. And take a minute to talk to the vendors — at a show this size the dealers remember repeat buyers and often set aside material for them.
The Mom and Pop series runs across Texas, with a second Houston date at Bad Astronaut on November 22, 2026. Full schedule and tickets are at momandpopcardshow.com.