I’m heading to Durham, NC, for seven days of DjangoCon US this Friday. This is my 10th year volunteering and the 9th year that DEFNA, the non-profit I co-founded, has run a DjangoCon US event. Here is an overview of the week.

Black Python Devs Leadership Summit (Saturday)

I’m attending and speaking on a discussion panel on Saturday at the Black Python Devs Leadership Summit. Tickets are free, and they will be streaming online in the afternoon. Donations are accepted and appreciated.

Django Girls Durham (Saturday)

Django Girls are hosting a Django workshop and teaching beginners a crash course on building their first website using Django.

DjangoCon US Tutorials (Sunday)

On Sunday morning, I’ll be volunteering and helping out at the tutorials. In the afternoon, we have a tradition of stuffing swag bags, which takes a big group and is a fun way to kick off the conference. You do not need a tutorial ticket or an organizer to help out. Ask at the registration desk, and they can direct you to when and where we are doing this.

Django Social meetup (Sunday)

My company REVSYS is sponsoring a DjangoSocial Raleigh/Durham Pre-DjangoCon Special meetup on Sunday evening before the conference kicks off. The meetup will be great for meeting other attendees the night before the conference.

DjangoCon US Talks (Monday through Wednesday)

The talks are great, but the busiest three days of the conference are also the busiest. There is always a lot going on, from sun up to sun down.

DjangoCon US Sprints (Thursday and Friday)

The sprints are one of my favorite parts of the conference. In past years, I have been so exhausted by the sprints that it’s hard to sit down and focus. It’s one of the best times to discuss Django and the Django ecosystem. If you have a project or want to find a project to help with, the sprints are great for getting your feet wet.

Outro

Tickets are still available if you live near Durham and want to attend. Both events have online and in-person options, so there is no pressure to make last-minute travel plans.

If you live around Durham and want to meet up, please reach out. Let’s see if we can meet for coffee.