Okay, folks, it’s that time of year again when I post a series of updates about the Bridgetown Comedy Festival. The schedule is posted and it’s time to make a plan. You got your pass, right? This assumes you have a pass.

Training for the festival: notes to self

• Start working on staying up late. This is important. Shows are going to be running until 1:30am or so in the morning. If you’re falling asleep in a food coma on weekends by 10pm, you’re never going to make (by which I mean, if I keep falling asleep by 10pm in a food coma, I’m never going to make it).
• Think about how much alcohol you want to drink. If you want a couple of drinks per show, remember you might see 2, 3, 4, or more shows in a day. That’s a lot of gin & tonics (at least for me). It’s worth thinking about where the cheapest (or tastiest) drinks will be available and plan accordingly.
• Planning for food. Eating can actually end up be a problem if you bounce from show to show. Don’t forget to schedule food or aim for venues that will have decent food available (not only do they have to make it, they have to be able to handle a crowd or you have to arrive early. But not so early that they are not yet serving food).
• Shoes. Have some comfortable ones because you’re going to walk a lot and might end up standing (!) at some shows.
• Weather forecast. Hopeful tweets aside, it might be rainy or cold. Check the forecast and plan for things to change.
• Bus tickets/pass. Since you’re not going to bike or drive, purchase some paper bus tickets from the local credit union or supermarket in case your phone (which you normally use for bus tickets) doesn’t have battery power.
• Take some time off work? Friday and Monday might be worth taking some time off. It’s oddly exhausting to laugh so much.
• Purchase your poster.
• And more importantly, starting planning for which shows you’re going to watch!