My first live tournament - advice?

[jasonHoldEm]

Hi guys,

I'm going to be playing in my first live poker tournament this weekend and was hoping I could get a few tips to help things go smoothly. This is one of those local (fire hall) tournaments so I'm not expecting it to be vegas or anything, but I'm hoping that some of you have expereince with this sort of thing and could give me a general idea of what to expect as far as rule enforcement, general level of play to expect, etc.

My main motivation for playing in the tournament is just to have some fun and (hopefully) meet some people and get invited to some home games in my area (advice on the best way to get into home games would be greatly appreciated as well). That being said, I of course would like to play well and win/cash in the tournament.

Also I'm wondering at what point should I speak up and say something if I see someone breaking the rules. As a relative novice to live play myself there's a good chance I'll end up doing something wrong myself, but if I see someone (for example) string-raising or something at what point should I say something (and what's the best way to say something)? I don't want to embarass/offend someone making an honest mistake, but I don't want to be taken advantage of either.

I hope that makes sense, I'm really looking forward to playing.

Thanks,
J