Peli Con 2026 sets up at the Anthony Dugas Recreation Center in Denham Springs on Saturday, September 26, 2026, and it is one of the better crossover events in the Florida Parishes — a convention that takes its trading card contingent seriously instead of tucking it into a back corner. Denham Springs sits just east of Baton Rouge off I-12, about an hour from New Orleans, which puts it within reach of collectors from the Northshore, the River Parishes and the capital region alike.
The show floor blends four collecting worlds. Sports card dealers bring football, baseball, basketball and hockey across all eras, with heavy LSU and New Orleans Saints representation and a good supply of raw vintage from the 1960s through the 1990s alongside modern Prizm, Optic, Select and Bowman Chrome. Trading card game vendors cover Pokemon most heavily, with Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh! and One Piece also present in singles and sealed form. Comic dealers bring long boxes, key issues and graded slabs. The fourth strand is general pop-culture collecting — action figures, vintage toys, Funko Pops, anime merchandise and artist alley prints. Expect cosplay on the floor and typically a costume contest or two during the day.
Hours run from 11:00 AM, with the listing showing a 6:00 PM close. One aggregator carried an obviously mistyped end time, so treat 11:00 AM to 6:00 PM as the working schedule and confirm with the organizer before setting out. Admission had not been confirmed at the time of listing; regional conventions of this size typically charge a modest door fee with reduced or free entry for young children.
The Anthony Dugas Recreation Center is a municipal facility with a free on-site lot and straightforward access from I-12. The building is climate controlled with a gym-style open floor, so aisles are wide and the layout is easy to navigate in a single pass. Denham Springs has plenty of restaurants within five minutes, and the city's antique district is a short drive away if you want to extend the collecting theme past the convention doors.
Peli Con suits collectors who like variety and dislike crowds. It is small enough to work thoroughly in an afternoon but broad enough that most people find something unexpected. Families are well served — the recreation center setting is relaxed, cosplay keeps kids engaged, and TCG tables offer affordable entry points. Sellers should note that several dealers here buy collections, particularly sports and Pokemon.
Practical advice: with a late-morning open, get there within the first thirty minutes if you are hunting specific cards, since a single-day regional show turns over its best material early. Bring cash in small denominations. Carry sleeves and top loaders. Make one full lap before committing to purchases — vendors are mixed by category rather than grouped, so prices on comparable items can vary considerably from table to table. If you are bringing cards to trade, organize them by sport or set in a binder for faster evaluation.
Watch the FanCons event page and Peli Con's social accounts for confirmed hours, admission pricing, guest lineups and the vendor list as the date approaches.