It’s Spring Break for most of Texas, and it’s finally that time of the year to celebrate.

I’m very grateful that South-By-Southwest, most commonly known as SXSW, gave a small community college news outlet a chance to cover Austin’s biggest event.

Despite a few delays here and there, especially during my train ride towards Downtown, I finally made it.

SXSW is held every year for 10 days all over Downtown Austin. This year, it was held from March 8 to March 17. The festival also held an educational conference from March 4 to March 7.

SXSW brings multiple festivals that celebrate the convergence of music, film, and interactive industries. It’s also where global professionals of all fields such as music, technology, filmmaking, media and journalism, and many more to name a few.

Attendees in their specific industries can also network with each other, giving them an opportunity to showcase their skills and their talents.

Overall, SXSW is best for the outstanding parties that happen everywhere around downtown. I was invited to a few; they love to treat press members like royalty.

I have primary access to the Film Festival. There are many films having their world premiere here at the festival. One you might have already heard of: Us starting Lupita N’yongo and Jordan Peele.

Olivia Wilde made a brief appearance at the Film Festival, with her film Booksmart that debuted on March 10.

And if you’re a 90’s kid, former NSYNC member-turned film producer Lance Bass will also stop by to say a few words about his new documentary set to debut on March 13, The Boy Band Con: The Lou Pearlman Story.

For those who are not interested in the Film Festival or several of the Film’s convergence tracks, you can also converge into different tracks of the festival, such as Interactive (with tracks such as blockchain, technology and marketing), music (which includes music marketing and producing), and gaming (which is set to begin on March 15).

During my short time, I may not get around to as many things as I would like to, but what I would like to take away from this experience was to learn how members of the media do press events, especially huge events like SXSW. In the meantime, I may have to brave out the crowds.

With that being said, wish me luck.