The Rare Bear E Sports Collectibles Card Show is Pasco County's anchor card event, and it runs on a dependable roughly-monthly rhythm out of the Quality Inn & Suites at 5316 US Highway 19 North, New Port Richey, FL 34652. The September weekend runs Saturday, September 12 from 9:00 AM to 4:00 PM and Sunday, September 13 from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM. Admission is $2 and the show fills roughly 100 tables across both days.
For collectors in west Pasco, Hudson, Trinity, Port Richey, and up toward Hernando County, this is the show that saves you a drive. Getting to a Tampa or Clearwater show from New Port Richey means fighting US 19 or the Suncoast Parkway for the better part of an hour each way; Rare Bear E puts a hundred tables within fifteen minutes of home for most of northwest Tampa Bay. That convenience has built a loyal regular crowd, and the show has a distinctly friendly, everybody-knows-everybody feel that larger convention-hall events do not.
Sports cards dominate the floor. Baseball is the deepest category — this is a market with a lot of longtime collectors and a lot of vintage still in circulation — followed by football, basketball, and hockey, with UFC, boxing, racing, and soccer turning up at individual tables. You will find graded slabs in cases, raw vintage in binders and boxes, modern rookie and prospect cards, autographs, relic and patch cards, and a genuine amount of pre-1980 material that has been sitting in Pasco County closets for decades. Non-sports and Pokemon vendors are part of the mix as well, along with comics, sports memorabilia, and general collectibles.
The two-day format changes the strategy. Saturday's 9:00 AM open is when the best raw material surfaces and when the room is fullest, so serious buyers should be there early with cash ready. Sunday is shorter and quieter, and dealers who did not hit their number on Saturday are frequently more flexible — if you spotted something Saturday and did not pull the trigger, coming back Sunday afternoon is often the smart move.
The Quality Inn & Suites venue is a hotel event space right on US 19, with free on-site parking and easy access from either direction. It is a smaller, more intimate room than the Clearwater and St. Pete halls, which is part of the appeal: you can see the whole floor at once and you will not lose an hour just walking laps. Food options along US 19 are abundant, and the hotel has restrooms and seating for a break.
Bring cash in small bills. At a $2-admission local show, cash is still king and it will get you better prices on dollar-box and mid-tier material than a card reader will. Bring a written want list with card numbers, not just player names. Bring penny sleeves and toploaders. If you are selling or trading, sort your material by sport and era before you arrive — dealers are far more likely to make an offer on an organized box than a shoebox jumble. Ask before removing cards from cases, handle by the edges, and agree on price before you inspect closely. Arrive early Saturday for selection, late Sunday for deals.
