Three shows share the grounds
The Oddities & Curiosities Expo runs Saturday 21 and Sunday 22 November 2026, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. both days. Markets for Makers fills the Special Events Center from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The UDJC Tampa Show uses the Equestrian Rings from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and charges spectators nothing.
The Expo takes Expo Hall and Entertainment Hall. Both sit behind the U.S. Hwy 301 entrance at Gate 1. The event page prints Where to Enter: US HWY 301, and the parking ticket repeats the instruction.
The ticket ladder steps at midnight
Advanced general admission costs $15. Day-of general admission costs $20, and the organiser states that it becomes available at midnight on the first show day. That hour is 00:00 on Saturday 21 November.
Children 12 and under enter free and need no ticket. The organiser sells no refunds on admission and no refunds on class seats.
The classes carry the spend. Saturday runs a Raccoon Taxidermy Class from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at $325. Sunday runs a Sunset Moth Entomology Class from 10 a.m. to noon at $150, then a Scorpion Habitat Entomology Class from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at $150.
A class seat fixes the arrival morning. The Saturday class starts at 10 a.m., the same minute the doors open.
The close is 5 p.m.
The organiser lists Saturday and Sunday at 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The venue's calendar record carries 10:00 to 17:00 for each day. Plan the 5 p.m. close.
Five o'clock leaves no show time after a Sunday checkout.
One night or two
Saturday alone needs the night of Saturday 21 November with a Sunday checkout. Both days need the nights of 21 and 22 November with a Monday checkout. Saturday arrival to Monday departure is two nights. Saturday arrival to Sunday departure is one night and one show day.
The midnight release sets your deadline
Book a refundable Saturday night, then decide at midnight on 21 November. That plan holds when the property's free-cancellation deadline falls at or after midnight on the arrival day.
A 24-hour cut-off lands at midnight. A 48-hour cut-off lands on Thursday 19 November and closes the option before the tickets release.
Ask for the deadline in writing with its clock time. When the deadline sits before midnight on the 21st, buy the $15 advance ticket and keep the room. The advance ticket costs $5 less than the day-of price.
Room types to hold and to release
Reserve a king for a pair of adults. Reserve two queens when children travel with you, because admission for under-12s costs nothing and the room carries the whole party.
Hold one night when Saturday is the only show day. Release the Sunday night when the midnight decision goes against a second day.
Hold near the gate
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa Fairgrounds Casino sits 0.2 miles away. The venue describes it as directly across the street from the Florida State Fairgrounds. The venue's U.S. 301 directions read Turn LEFT at The Fairgrounds entrance across from the Holiday Inn Express and Winghouse Restaurant.
That room removes the lot queue and the $10 parking ticket. It also gets a class holder to a 10 a.m. start without a 9 a.m. gate line.
Wyndham Garden Tampa Fairgrounds/Casino sits 1.5 miles out, opened in 2025, and publishes free wifi and free parking. Take it when you plan to drive and want the car covered overnight.
Parking is one entry per ticket
Parking costs $10 online and $12 onsite. The parking portal lists Oddities & Curiosities - Parking Only for 21 to 22 November at $10.00, marked Good for one time parking. Enter through HWY 301 entrance.
A Saturday visit plus a Sunday return needs two tickets, so $20 prepaid against $24 at the gate. A guest across the street buys none.
What the hosts publish
The venue publishes admission, hours and parking. The organiser publishes the same ladder plus the class prices. The venue's trip-planning page names seven hotel partners with a distance for each and no rate.
Ask the property for the weekend rate in writing, then for the cancellation deadline with its clock time. The midnight release is the only clock the organiser publishes, and the room terms have to clear it.