Next week, I am going overseas on tour with Jakarta EE. I will visit a handful of Java User Groups in the South of the USA. The tour schedule looks like this:

September 9 – 6:00 PM – TriJUG – Durham, NC – Details and registration
September 10 – 6:00 PM – JaxJUG – Jacksonville, FL – Details and registration
September 11 – 6:30 PM – JavaMUG – Dallas, TX – Details and registration
September 12 – 6:30 PM – Gateway JUG – St. Louis, MO – Details and registration

If you are in or near these cities, I encourage you to attend these free events and support the local Java community. I certainly hope the talk is enough to convince you to attend. If the topic does not appeal to you, that in itself is no reason to stay at home as the most giving part of these events is the opportunity to socialize with fellow Java developers in the local community.

When the JUG tour is over, I am going further south over the weekend to Puerto Vallarta in Mexico to attend the Jalapeño Unconference. Unconferences are another opportunity to meet and discuss topics at heart with fellow community members. Take a look at The JUnconference Alliance to find an unconference near you. If there aren’t any nearby, start one yourself, or pack the bags and go to one. You won’t regret it!