SJ Events runs its Pokemon, Sports and TCG Card Show at the ELARA Convention Center in Crystal Lake on Sunday, October 18, 2026 from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM, with more than 100 vendor tables and raffles running through the day. For McHenry County, this is the big one — a genuine convention-scale room in a part of the metro where most card events top out at twenty or thirty tables.
A hundred-plus tables changes what is possible. You can compare the same card across five or six dealers before committing, which is the single most reliable way to avoid overpaying. You can find a category specialist rather than settling for whoever happens to have one copy. And you can spend six hours in the room without running out of things you have not looked at.
The announced mix is unusually wide. Pokemon leads, with singles from vintage sets through current releases, graded slabs, sealed booster boxes, elite trainer boxes and Japanese product. Sports cards have a substantial presence — baseball, football, basketball and hockey, vintage through modern, raw and slabbed, with heavy Chicago team representation in Cubs, White Sox, Bears, Bulls and Blackhawks material. On top of that, expect One Piece, Magic: The Gathering and Lorcana dealers, plus a general mixed-collectibles contingent carrying memorabilia, autographs, unopened wax, Funko Pops, comics and card supplies. Live breakers typically set up as well. That combination — real Pokemon depth and real sports depth in the same room — is rare, and it makes this show a good choice for a household where people collect different things.
The ELARA Convention Center is a purpose-built event facility in Crystal Lake with its own free parking lot, level entry and accessible restrooms. It sits in McHenry County on the northwest edge of the metro, drawing from Cary, Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Woodstock, McHenry, Huntley and Barrington, and it is reachable from the northwest suburbs in thirty to forty minutes. Raffles run through the day; ask at check-in how tickets are distributed and whether you need to be present for drawings.
Who should go: nearly everyone. Pokemon collectors get the strongest McHenry County floor of the year. Sports collectors and set builders get real depth. Families do well — a convention-center floor is easy to navigate with kids, and dollar boxes at general tables let young collectors buy something real. Serious buyers should plan to open showcases and ask questions, because the best material at a hundred-table show is almost always behind glass.
Strategy for a six-hour show: walk the entire room once without buying, mark the tables that match your want list, then circle back and negotiate. Best inventory is out at 10:00 AM; best pricing appears in the last hour before the 4:00 PM close.
Bring cash in mixed denominations plus a payment app, penny sleeves and top loaders for raw pickups, and a rigid case for slabs. Write down set names and card numbers rather than trusting memory. Check the SJ Events listing or social channels for the confirmed door price and vendor lineup before you drive out.