Trading card collectors from across the region will converge on Martinsville Oct. 3 for a show featuring 45 vendors and 72 tables of cards and other products.
The eight-hour event, organized by a group of local card shops, will give hobbyists an opportunity to buy, sell and trade their collections at the West Piedmont Higher Education Center.
The event happens to fall on the same day as Oktoberfest.
“We decided to do it on October 3rd, because that was really the only open weekend that we could get that would work with everybody’s schedule. Come to find out, it was the same weekend as Oktoberfest. Before we planned it, we had no idea that it was Oktoberfest weekend, so that’s one reason why,” event planner Jeff Gilbert said.
Gilbert said the organizers regularly travel to card shows outside the area.
“All of us kind of… we all go to card shows. We do have a card shop. We all travel out of town to card shows. We went to Roanoke. I’ve been as far as Asheville, North Carolina, for the card show. And there are so many card shops within a 10- or 15-mile radius. We thought we’d bring one to Martinsville, see what happens,” Gilbert said.
The event will include 45 vendors and 72 tables. Vendors are expected from Virginia Beach, Charlotte, Reidsville, Fredericksburg, Christiansburg and Blacksburg.
“When you walk in, you’re going to see a bunch of tables and a bunch of cards. There will be a lot of sealed product,” Todd Dean said.
Tim Spencer, of Rip-Em Cards-N-More, said many of the cards available have been graded and certified.
“A lot of the cards we have will be graded, so that means that they’ve already been certified. A lot of them we have, we’ve watched pulled out of a pack, so we do get counterfeits from time to time, but very rarely,” Spencer said.
Gilbert said organizers hope the event will attract collectors from throughout the region.
“I mean, we’ve all been to card shows out of town, and we know how big they can be and how many people they draw. We hope Martinsville and Henry County can draw that type of crowd. But we really don’t know until we do it, and we haven’t had one here in almost 30 years. And a lot of people from Danville, Roanoke already come here to the shop,” Gilbert said.
Two food trucks, Sweet Cakes and Blondie’s Barbecue, also will be on site, and door prizes will be given throughout the event.
The trading card show will be held from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 3 at the West Piedmont Higher Education Center, 191 Fayette St., Martinsville.
