Can you believe that the Intersections Festival is almost here? We’ve been preparing for months, and tomorrow is the big day. With all this in mind, here are a few suggestions for how to get the most out of the festival:

(1) Bring a group or connect with a group when you get there. From noon through 5pm, we will have some great sessions going on simultaneously. For example, the 2pm-3pm slot has a great singer/songwriter on the Main Stage, an awesome-looking panel on safe spaces in the Spirituality Tent, a panel on poverty and homelessness in the Justice Tent, mid-afternoon yoga in the Meditation Space, and I’ll be talking about cocktails in the Art Tent. There will be a lot to see, hear, and experience, so finding others with whom you can compare experiences later will be the best way to approach the festival.

(2) Bring a little money with you. Some of the presenters will have merchandise available, and there will be great organizations like World Relief that would definitely appreciate donations. Also, we’ll have food trucks and a beer garden, so make sure to keep a little cash for your meals.

(3) Keep in mind that it’s Florida in April, so while the high is only 89 degrees, it will still be sunny and humid. A light-weight camping chair, a big bottle of water, and some sunscreen to refresh periodically will really help make the day easier, and you should always have your inhalers, epipens, and such just in case. We’ll have a first aid station if you find yourself getting exhausted, but we’d like for it not to come to that. Jessi’s running first aid, and she’d prefer her interactions with you just be social.

(4) Lastly, let’s talk about the Bar Chaplain session. I’ll be making a new drink (the Salvation Stinger), and I’ll talk about the Holy Spirit’s wonderful tendency to hang out in unexpected places. While I’m excited to share this conversation, remember that it won’t bother me if you choose to go to another session during the 2pm-3pm time slot. Most of what I say on Saturday is going to make its way onto this blog eventually anyway, so if you need to prioritize the homelessness conversation or that spirituality panel with all the really awesome community ministers, do it. Just track me down later so that I can see your notes from those panels.

(5) If you are active on social media, tag all posts from the festival with the hashtag #IntersectionsJax. This will be very helpful to the Wild Goose folks as we assemble experiences from this event to pass along to groups in other cities looking to do something similar.

I know that all this is just scratching the surface, so if you’d like more information about the festival, the lineup, and how to navigate the many awesome sessions, head to https://intersectionsjax.com. See you tomorrow!