This was my first season of autocrossing in nearly a decade, and since then a new club has emerged: The Capital Driving Club.
This awesome club does a lot of fun events which are somewhat less competitive than WDCR-SCCA. It's where I would recommend going for your first couple autocrosses.
What makes it kind of different is that, when I'm there, I feel a little bit like a big fish in a small pond. I tend to surprise folks with the times I can turn in the little Fiesta ST. Making heads turn is just plain fun.
The "run what ya brung" climate they have there brings a lot of diverse cars and diverse drivers. Typically younger than at SCCA. And that's refreshing too.