Festival Happened: Go Wild 2023

We Bring Planners Together.
GO WILD In WASHIngton D.C.

My new favorite thing of late is discovering subcultures. I went with Angelica Talan to the 2023 Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival and had a blast!! You can read all about it in my recap linked below. I don’t know if fishing will become a regular hobby but I definitely enjoyed it.

Festival Happened: 2023 Virginia Fly Fishing & Wine Festival

My recap of the 2023 VA Fly Fishing & Wine Festival

For my next act, I attended the Go Wild for Planners in Washington, DC. I am a big fan of Alex Elle and her healing work (and she’s a NY Times Best Selling Author for her most recent book, “How We Heal”). Alex is the reason that I heard about the event because she was one of the keynotes. I have had planners since middle school, I fought it for a while but then I realized it was exactly what I needed so I leaned into the planner being my best tool. I don’t always fully utilize the planner but when I do, I never regret it. So I was excited to learn there was a major conference (there were like 1,500 people) coming to DC all about paper planners. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I was excited for this monumental event!!

When I arrived at the Hilton on Thursday March 2nd, it was more of a check in day and I was WAY early (I got there around 9am to discover registration opened at 11am) probably cause I was a bit excited, so I set up in the lobby to check some emails and people watch. It was awesome watching everyone arrive with their themed t-shirts and every color of the rainbow on display. At 11am, I went down to the registration desk to the already formed line of excited attendees. People were dancing and cheering and clearly very happy to be there. It was an infectious energy and made the almost hour wait worth it. That is the only downside to my whole experience, I spent a significant amount of time waiting in lines. The downside was the lost time, the upside was it gave you opportunities to meet and get to know other people. This is probably where I met those most people, either in line or my tablemates. The best universal experience that I could rate this to is camp, it had a beautiful camp energy that I really enjoyed. It was it’s own universe and it was delightful to be a guest in it. I met a lot of really dope people and learned about so many cool products and companies. I hung out for a few hours checking out the activations and meeting people and then went home and got some rest, I did miss the first night party cause I was kinda beat and the second day started at 7am.

I got there morning two a little behind schedule and did not truly understand what I was in for. Luckily there were still a few open seats available when I arrived and I found a spot at the Erin Condren table and whoa buddy was that one of the most swagged out events/tables that I have ever seen. I grabbed a seat and a stack and introduced myself to my tablemates. The day seemed to fly by because we were having such a great time and then Alex hit the stage. She was phenomenal as expected and she had the room in shambles by the end in the best way. One of the exercises that resonated with me was taking time to reflect and write about when I feel seen, safe and supported. She really had us all taking inventory. Another dope thing from the conference was that Avery hired an illustrator to create boards for each of the speakers that you can see in the pictures below.

The other two keynotes were both amazing, Frank Warren of Post Secrets gives a GREAT keynote experience, would definitely recommend him. He definitely held his own as one of the only male speakers. The final keynote was the incomparable Renée Elise Goldsberry of Altered Carbon, Hamilton, One Life To Live, OMG almost forgot She-Hulk and so much more. She is amazing, and she was a joy to watch. I was also super disappointed to learn that Funko Pop! Dolls made Altered Carbon Dolls and did not include Quellcrist Falconer (her character) who was the main character in season 2, how rude!!

Overall it was a GREAT experienced, I hestitated at the $699 (plus fees) price tag at first but it was well worth it!! It included access to all sessions, access to all social events, welcome bag + T-Shirt, workshop materials, Wild swag bag and many more surprises. They MORE then exceeded the value of the ticket in both experience and swag. Everyone that I saw from volunteers, to attendees, to speakers was smiling and enjoying themselves. The joy and energy in the room were palpable.

Another fun part of my experience was my personal planner. This year I switched from the Passion Planner (which I’ve been using for a few years) to the Saint Belford Curation Planner. I was like a popular exchange student with my Saint Belford (an Australian brand) because so many people wanted to see it, take pictures and learn more. Most had never heard of it (and I would love to be a brand partner with them so fingers crossed.)

If you are in the DMV, there’s another Planner gathering coming in April, check it out – https://dcplannerjournalcon.com/.