My observation and experience while attending the A3C was primarily about networking, obtaining information and watching entertainment. The festival/conference was a five-day event in Atlanta that started October 8th and ended on October 12th. I arrived early Thursday morning and had to try to pack in as much activity in my schedule as possible. I had already missed performances by Megan Thee Stallion, Yasiin Bey (Mos Def), Rakim and Big Daddy Kane earlier that week. I also missed the kickoff party and the comedy show hosted by Mo’Nique. And to be honest, that was pretty much the theme of my storyline while I was there. It was so much going on each and every day that I couldn’t keep up. Throughout the day, there were panels on numerous topics being held at the Americas Mart building in downtown Atlanta.
Before you walked in the conference rooms where the panels were held, you were greeted by the corporate sponsors in the lobby.
There was Toyota, Monster Energy Drink, Google Start-Up, Serato just to name a few. In the midst of me talking and receiving free stuff from the sponsors, I was talking, shaking hands and networking with the rest of the people in the lobby. There artists, business people, and other people from different sectors of our culture just walking around.
From there, you had the option of just hanging out in the lobby or going to check out the panels. I chose the latter and got a chance to see Stacey Abrams talk about politics, I seen the comedians of 85 South talk about the entertainment business. I saw motivational speakers Gary Vee and Eric “ET” Thomas do their thing, in addition to a conversation with 2Chainz and Dapper Dan.