PokeConnect brings its Pokemon-first card show back to Maplewood Mall for three days from Friday, September 18 through Sunday, September 20, 2026. The timing is deliberate and worth noting: this weekend overlaps the big Minnesota Card Show at Saint Paul RiverCentre, and plenty of collectors build a two-stop itinerary out of it, hitting the RiverCentre floor for sports and then coming east to Maplewood for trading card games at a fraction of the crowd.
As the name implies, Pokemon dominates. Vendors bring English and Japanese singles spanning Base Set through the newest Scarlet and Violet era releases, along with graded slabs, sealed booster boxes, elite trainer boxes, collection boxes, tins and hard-to-find promos. Vintage holos, first edition cards and Japanese exclusives show up in the cases regularly. Beyond Pokemon there is meaningful table space for Magic: The Gathering, Yu-Gi-Oh!, One Piece, Disney Lorcana and Dragon Ball, plus supply vendors carrying sleeves, binders, top loaders, magnetic holders and storage boxes.
Hours are Friday 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., Saturday 10:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., and Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free, with no ticket or registration required. Those long Friday and Saturday evenings are the show's real advantage. If you cannot make a normal Saturday morning show because of work or family schedules, you can walk in at six in the evening and still have two full hours of shopping.
Maplewood Mall is at 3001 White Bear Avenue North in Maplewood, immediately off Interstate 694 and easily reached from Saint Paul, White Bear Lake, Roseville, Oakdale and the entire northeast metro. Parking is free across large surface lots and a ramp. Being inside the mall means restrooms, food court options, coffee and air conditioning are all within a short walk, which makes this a comfortable show to spend several hours at and an easy one to bring kids to.
PokeConnect skews young and friendly. Kids trading out of binders is a common sight, and dealers here are patient about explaining what a card is worth and why. Competitive players will find playable staples for standard and expanded formats. Collectors chasing set completion benefit from vendors who bring organized singles binders rather than only high-dollar showcase cards. Investors should pay attention to the sealed product tables, where older sets sometimes appear at pricing that has not caught up to the market.
Some tactics for getting the most out of it. Bring a trade binder if you want to move cards without spending cash, and sort it by set so a dealer can evaluate it quickly. Do a full lap before you buy, because pricing on identical cards varies noticeably between vendors at this show. Bring cash for negotiating leverage even though most tables take cards. If you are buying anything raw and valuable, inspect centering, edges and surface under good light before you commit, and ask the dealer directly about any flaws. And come Friday if you are chasing something specific, because the strongest singles rarely survive to Sunday afternoon.
PokeConnect runs this show on a roughly monthly rotation between Maplewood Mall and Eden Prairie Center. Check the CardSota calendar at cardsota.com for the current vendor roster and future dates.
