Surviving and Thriving at DrupalCon: Our Tips

Nashville, Tennessee hosted this year’s DrupalCon, which brought together developers, designers, and other digital mavens who use Drupal in their day-to-day lives. With nearly 3,000 attendees from around the world, DrupalCon is an annual event like no other, and going to your very first DrupalCon is exhilarating, to say the least. I’d previously attended the Bay Area’s BADCamp and DrupalCamp Florida, but regional Drupal events tend to be small and tight-knit. DrupalCon, on the other hand, is a full week of non-stop action. So many summits and speaking sessions and sprints! (Our team was certainly grateful for all the free coffee.)

You’ve got plenty of time to prepare for DrupalCon 2019 in Minneapolis and DrupalCon 2020 — so until then, here are our tips for making the most of your DrupalCon experience:

Arrive early, and don’t miss the first day’s specialized summits! This year’s summit topics include Higher Education, Media and Publishing and Non-Profits. Summits are a particularly valuable part of DrupalCon, because their industry focus means the content is likely to be extra relevant; you’re more likely to meet people working on something similar to you, which means more opportunities for learning and collaboration; and you’ll learn more about what’s the latest in your field.

The DKAN team was especially excited for the Drupal4Gov summit, which was full of DKAN users and technologists at all levels of government, which is where you’ll find a ton of the open data action.

Plan to be up and about the whole day. That means wearing comfortable shoes, bringing a pre-charged battery pack for your mobile devices and carrying a practical and ergonomically-designed bag that doesn’t dig into your shoulders. Your back will thank you. And make sure you’ve got your provisions with you — granola bars, a warm hoodie for cold conference rooms, etc. DrupalCon may look like there are breaks built in, but you won’t have time to run back to your hotel with all the amazing people you’ll be meeting and speaking with during the gaps in the schedule!

Download the free DrupalCon app (which even has an Apple Watch edition) — very handy for when you’re in a fascinating conversation but need to be reminded about an event on your schedule. You can view the entire week’s program and select events to build your own itinerary in advance. Best of all, the app will ping you 15 minutes before each event — which gives you plenty of time to walk across a convention center.

You’ll want to be there for the opening of the Exhibit Hall on the first day that it’s open. First, you’ll get the best swag — like Pantheon’s crowd-favorite custom printed t-shirts and cheesy shrimp and grits (a Nashville favorite). Second, stopping at exhibitor booths is a great way to stay current, put faces to company names, and have great conversations with people who are super excited to talk to you. My favorite booths this year were:

• The U.S. Digital Service — As someone who has worked in civic tech for several years, it was great to finally speak with USDS reps face-to-face and learn more about what they do, and how they recruit innovators from tech to bring fresh innovation to the federal government.
• Kalamuna — Their booth donated $10 to the charity or non-profit of your choice. Seriously! Here’s proof, from back at BADCamp.
• Digital Echidna’s hockey themed booth, where you could practice your slapshot and win a “DRUPAL 8” hockey jersey — or simply take home an adorable stuffed echidna.

Finally, don’t forget to have fun! The social events can often end up being the most valuable part of the conference — you never know who you’ll meet and what you’ll learn. I highly recommend attending evening events such as (but not limited to) the Women in Drupal mixer, DrupalCon trivia night, and the legendary Pantheon/Lullabot DrupalCon afterparty.

One of the things that also made DrupalCon especially memorable for me was not one of the planned events — but instead, late at night, long after the sessions had ended and the Music City Center had closed up. Our group had gone to a local honky-tonk called Robert’s Western World to listen to talented bands covering old country classics, and I ended up in a conversation with the bartender.

“Who are all of these techies in town this week?” she asked. “We get a lot of different folks from a lot of different conferences — but everyone who’s been in town this week has just been so nice and polite! The whole waitstaff has been talking about it.”

The Drupal community is a unique and beautiful thing — both as individuals and as a whole — and DrupalCon is the mecca of this diverse, inclusive community, dedicated to contributing to one another’s innovation and success. Can’t wait to see you at next year’s DrupalCon!

Share your own tips in the comments!