Halloween weekend in Sacramento already offers plenty of ways to mark October 31 — neighborhood walks, haunted houses, family events at local parks. Sac Gamers Expo takes a different approach: filling Cal Expo with more than 100 exhibitors, a free play lounge, competitive esports brackets, and a cosplay competition, all on a weekend when showing up in costume is entirely on theme.
The expo runs two days, Saturday October 31 and Sunday November 1, at Cal Expo on Exposition Boulevard. It’s the largest gaming convention in the Sacramento region and draws a crowd that covers every segment of gaming — collectors hunting rare cartridges, competitive tournament players, families with young kids, and cosplayers who’ve been building their outfit since August.
What You’ll Find on the Floor
The exhibitor hall is the core of the show. Video game vendors bring lots of retro and rare titles across all platforms and generations — the kind of inventory you don’t see at a single shop, and a reason serious collectors tend to arrive early on Saturday. Alongside the game vendors are TCG (trading card game) dealers, artist alley booths, and indie game developers showing playable builds of games in development.
Voice actors, content creators, and industry guests appear throughout both days, with panels and dedicated meet-and-greet opportunities. The guest roster changes year to year; the show’s website and social media channels post confirmed appearances in the weeks before the event.
The free play lounge is one of the most practical features for families: a collection of playable consoles set up across multiple titles and generations, free to use with admission. It’s a good fallback if the vendor floor gets overwhelming and a useful way to introduce younger kids to the broader show without needing to spend money on top of admission.
Competitive players can enter esports tournaments organized through start.gg. Brackets for specific games are posted on start.gg ahead of the show, so you can register and check your competition before arriving. Live music runs across both days, and the cosplay competition draws participants across multiple categories — elaborate armor builds, group costumes, and everything in between. If you’re bringing props as part of a costume, check the show’s weapons policy on the sacgamersexpo.com website before you come; peace-bonding requirements apply to functional-looking props.
Tickets, Hours, and Getting There
Saturday opens at 9 a.m. and runs until 5 p.m. Sunday opens at 10 a.m. and also closes at 5 p.m. The hour-earlier start on Saturday is worth noting for vendors: the first two hours tend to be when the best finds move on the exhibitor floor.
Single-day Saturday admission is $30. Single-day Sunday is $25. A two-day pass costs $40 — if you plan to attend both days, the math is clear. Children 10 and under are admitted free both days, which makes the per-family math considerably easier for anyone with young kids.
Cal Expo is at 1600 Exposition Blvd in Sacramento, accessible from Business 80. On-site parking runs $10 per vehicle. Tickets are available in advance through Etix or at the gate on the day of the show; the show’s history suggests day-of availability is generally fine, but advance purchase avoids any uncertainty.
If you’re building a full Halloween weekend itinerary, both the Wild Howl-O-Ween at Folsom City Zoo and Sacramento’s haunted houses run concurrently that weekend. Sac Gamers Expo wraps at 5 p.m. on Saturday, leaving the evening free for other plans.
The Details
- What: Sac Gamers Expo 2026
- When: Saturday, October 31, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and Sunday, November 1, 10 a.m.–5 p.m.
- Where: Cal Expo, 1600 Exposition Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95815
- Admission: Saturday $30 | Sunday $25 | Two-day pass $40 | Children 10 and under free
- Parking: $10 on-site at Cal Expo
- Tickets: Online via Etix or at the gate
- What’s inside: Video game and TCG vendors, artist alley, indie developer showcase, free play lounge, esports tournaments, guest panels and meet-and-greets, live music, cosplay competition
- Best for: Collectors, competitive players, families with kids, cosplayers, anyone curious about gaming culture
Bottom Line
Sac Gamers Expo is the kind of event Sacramento has historically had to drive to the Bay Area or Los Angeles to find. For collectors, the vendor floor — over 100 exhibitors in one hall — offers inventory depth that no local shop can replicate on a single day. For families, free admission for kids under ten and the breadth of the free play lounge make it a low-barrier full-day activity. And landing it on Halloween weekend is a genuine bonus: the costume energy in the building is different than a standard convention weekend, and leaving at 5 p.m. still leaves hours for everything else the night has to offer.
For more big events at Cal Expo this fall, the Aftershock music festival runs the following weekend at Discovery Park, and the CDM Punjabi music festival took place on October 17.
