Come to every event you can afford to attend.
From what I've heard, next month will be kind of tame (Beasley Knob), so it is a great place to cut your teeth, meet some people, and be fairly confident you'll make it home with some useful experience.
Then one of the big rides is in May (CORE event). Depending on your setup, you can do as aggressive of activities as you want at that park. In a worst case scenario, you can ride with someone else and learn from them.