India Festival Tampa runs Saturday, 31 October 2026 at the Florida State Fairgrounds, 4800 U.S. Hwy 301 N, Tampa, FL 33610, from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. The venue page lists Expo Hall and Entertainment Hall and names US Hwy 301 as the entry. The venue map places both halls at the US Hwy 301 entrance, Gate 1.
The event page describes the festival as Florida's largest celebration of Indian culture, organised by the Gujarati Samaj of Tampa Bay. It names 85+ dance teams and 200+ exhibitors showing Indian fashion, jewelry, art, crafts and food, and states that all proceeds support youth education and the preservation of Indian culture.
The ticket page prints Doors Open at 9:00am, free entry for children under 3, and a ticket requirement for ages 3 and up.
A Thirteen-Hour Shift on the Floor
The published window runs 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. A vendor team works that window from load-in to close, and the building supplies the water, the washroom and the seat.
Expo Hall carries 87,000+ square feet of exhibit space, 45-foot high ceilings, drive-through doors for load-in and load-out, eight flexible meeting rooms, two upgraded show offices, complimentary wifi throughout the building, and utilities accessible through the floor and wall. The page states that Expo Hall combines with the adjacent Entertainment Hall for a footprint of 138,000 square feet.
Load-in and load-out run through the drive-through doors. The meeting rooms sit in the same building as the booth.
Day Rates Before Load-In
Dayuse Tampa listed 14 priced cards on a 21 October 2026 read. Three cards name the grounds in the property name or the card text, and all three open at 8 a.m., one hour before the door. A fourth card sits under the Sleep Inn name near Busch Gardens and USF.
Quality Inn & Suites Tampa near Fairgrounds and Casino shows $65 per night plus 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. The card reads free Wi-Fi in all areas, photocopying and fax services, and free parking. The 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. windows run back to back and cover 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Clarion Pointe Tampa-Brandon Near Fairgrounds and Casino shows $65 plus a $6 fee. Its windows are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The card reads free high-speed Wi-Fi throughout the hotel and lists a business center.
Quality Inn and Conference Center Tampa-Brandon shows $60 plus a $6 fee. Its windows are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. The card lists a business center and a meeting room.
Sleep Inn near Busch Gardens - USF shows $95 plus a $5 fee. Its windows are 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
No card on the page closes at 10 p.m. The latest window across the four reads 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. A vendor who needs the room at 9 p.m. books the night at that property and uses the day slot for the hours before the door.
Camping on the Grounds
The venue trip-planning page states that event camping is open for all Fairgrounds and area events with the exception of the annual Florida State Fair. It lists pet-friendly sites with complete electric capabilities and reservations paid online 48 hours in advance. The page publishes no nightly rate.
The Partner List and Its Distances
The venue publishes seven hotel partners with a distance on each entry: Holiday Inn Express & Suites Tampa Fairgrounds Casino at 0.2 miles and directly across the street from the Florida State Fairgrounds, Wyndham Garden Tampa Fairgrounds/Casino at 1.5, Staybridge Suites Tampa-Brandon at 2.7, Hilton Garden Inn Tampa-East/Brandon at 2.8, Courtyard Tampa-Brandon at 4.4, Cambria Hotel Tampa-Brandon at 5 and Hampton Inn & Suites Tampa East at 5.0.
Two partner entries contradict their own distance field. Wyndham Garden's description reads one mile against a printed 1.5, and Hilton Garden Inn's reads less than 2 miles against a printed 2.8. This piece prints the field figure.
No partner carries a priced day card on the Dayuse page, and no card prints a distance. The property name is the only link between a day rate and the grounds.
Admission, Parking and the Platform
Two prices appear for admission. The event page reads $10 online and $15 at the gate. The ticket portal prints Price at the gate is $15.00 and Advance Purchase $11.50, with the line save $3.50 by purchasing in advance.
Parking carries two prices as well. The event page reads $10 online and $12 onsite. The ticket portal sells India Fest Guest Parking for 31 October at $15.00 general parking, one-time entry only, and stamps the page Rain or Shine - No Refunds or Exchanges.
hotelSlots books four slots: morning 6 a.m. to noon, afternoon noon to 6 p.m., evening 6 p.m. to midnight and overnight midnight to 6 a.m. Its pages state 103,857+ hotels across 46 states and 30 to 75 percent off nightly rates.
The site's seller-of-travel page, last updated 21 October 2026, lists Florida, Hawaii, Iowa and Washington among the states where it cannot take a booking request. /directory/florida and /directory/tampa both returned HTTP 404 on a 21 October read while /directory answered, so the property takes this booking directly.
Before Load-In
Reserve the 8 a.m. window first and the second after it, then re-read the card on the morning of the show. Compare two cards on the total: $65 plus a $6 booking fee comes to $71.
Every figure above comes from the 21 October 2026 read.
