The market runs 11 to 5
Markets for Makers fills the Special Events Center at the Florida State Fairgrounds on November 21 and 22, 2026. The venue and the organiser both list 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. for each day.
The Special Events Center sits at the MLK Blvd entrance, Gate 3. The address is 4800 U.S. Hwy 301 N, Tampa, FL 33610.
The venue prices admission as a range of $6 to $18 and admits children 12 and under free. The organiser sells the tiers: $16 for the all-weekend VIP ticket, $12 for a Saturday arrival after 11 a.m., $10 after 1 p.m. and $8 after 3 p.m. Sunday repeats the ladder at $12, $10 and $6.
The hall holds 40,000 square feet
The Special Events Center carries 40,000 square feet of customizable space and 25-foot ceilings. The venue lists complimentary wifi throughout the building. A folding acoustical wall divides the space into 15,000 and 24,000 square foot sections.
The venue publishes no lounge, business center or attendee workspace in the hall. A visitor who needs a desk and a quiet line for a call needs a room.
Three hours before the opening
Dayuse's Tampa shelf carried 14 priced cards on 21 October 2026. Three of them sit in the fairgrounds corridor, and each one opens at 8 a.m.
Quality Inn & Suites Tampa near Fairgrounds and Casino lists $65 for the day against $88 for the night, a 27 percent discount and a $6 booking fee. Its windows are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Its pin sits 2.68 straight-line miles from the fairgrounds.
Clarion Pointe Tampa-Brandon Near Fairgrounds and Casino lists $65 against $96, a 33 percent discount and a $6 fee, with windows of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Its pin sits 1.82 miles out.
Quality Inn and Conference Center Tampa-Brandon lists $60 against $87, a 32 percent discount and a $6 fee, with windows of 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Its pin sits 2.93 miles out.
The 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. window fits an 11 a.m. opening. It buys three hours of work before the doors and three hours of the market. The bag stays in the room.
Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa Fairgrounds Casino is the venue's own partner at 0.2 miles, described as directly across the street. It publishes no day rate.
The afternoon window past a 5 p.m. close
Two of the three cards sell a window that outlasts the market. Quality Inn & Suites runs 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. Quality Inn and Conference Center runs 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Either one holds a room two hours past the close, which covers a late load-out for a maker and a slow exit for a shopper who drove in.
Clarion Pointe's latest window ends at 4 p.m.
The afternoon slot costs $65 or $60 plus one $6 booking fee, so $71 or $66 for a room held to 7 p.m.
Two shows, one weekend, two gates
The Oddities & Curiosities Expo runs the same two dates in Expo Hall and Entertainment Hall from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those buildings sit behind the U.S. Hwy 301 entrance at Gate 1. The market sits at Gate 3 on MLK Blvd.
A visitor attending both buys two parking tickets. A room between the two halls covers the gap in the day.
Tickets, parking and the room in one sum
Parking costs $10 prepaid online and $12 at the gate. Each ticket covers one entry, and the parking portal states that it does not include event entry. The prepaid price carries its convenience fee inside the figure, and sales are final.
A morning slot on the Conference Center card comes to $66 with the fee. Add $10 parking and an $18 ticket and the day costs $94 before food. The same day bought at the gate comes to $96, because gate parking is $12.
Florida sits outside the booking platform
hotelSlots publishes its state restriction on the seller-of-travel page, last updated 21 October 2026. The page states that the company cannot process hotel booking requests from residents of or for travel to Florida, Hawaii, Iowa and Washington. The restriction covers every hotelhuddle domain.
The directory lists Tampa at 175 hotels. The day rates above come from one read of the Tampa shelf on 21 October 2026, and these cards move between reads.
The order to book in
Buy the $10 parking ticket first, then the ticket, then the room. Choose 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. for the work block and the opening hours, or 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. to hold the room past the close. Recheck the day rate and the window before paying.
