Calling all twits, tweeters and tits to Slide down to Ann Street

On Thursday 25^th March people from every corner of the globe will come together to raise money for charity. There’ll be celebrity bowling in New York City, a cupcake and magicians’ party in Edinburgh, and a book signing in San Francisco. Not wanting to be left out Belfast will host their very own Twestival at Slide on Ann Street.

Organised in just under two weeks, Belfast Twestival promises to be a night with a difference. Organised 100% by volunteers there’ll be live music from local bands, games and prizes to raise crucial funds for the Twestival charity for 2010, Concern. Twestival is a global celebration of technology’s power to unite people and achieve social good so why not do your bit and pop down to Slide on 25^th March at 8pm. Tickets are £5 and can be purchased online at www.belfast.twestival.com. With a headline set coming from acclaimed Belfast band, Cutaways it promises to be a great night.

Instead of each city choosing the own charity, Twestival has chosen Concern as the cause to focus its fundraising efforts on. Concern was chosen as the Twestival charity for 2010 because of their comprehensive approach to education and it’s dedication to ensuring that 100% of the money raised goes directly into projects, which can have an immediate and profound impact. Capturing the impact that media can have, Concern actively blog and tweet and can benefit from the public awareness and social media influence Twestival offers.

Karen Gallagher from Concern Northern Ireland comments:

“All of us at Concern Worldwide are very excited to be involved with the fourth annual Twestival and would like to thank everyone involved across the world for helping to raise vital funds and awareness for our education programmes. Twestival is such a fantastic example of the difference that can be made when individuals join together to volunteer and take action.

“Every child has a right to a free and good quality education. School helps children develop the skills they need to make themselves heard in the world, to make positive changes in their own lives and ultimately break free from poverty. Yet at least 72 million children across the world, many of whom are girls, are not enrolled in school.

“Thanks to the support of Twestival we will be able to do so much more. Our education programmes will bring real, long-term improvements to local communities, helping thousands of children to get access to a primary education and the chance of a brighter future.”

Although originally set up through twitter and for twitterers, Twestival 2010 is open to anyone and everyone. We all know how powerful Twitter is as a communications tool. It can connect and inform people from all over the world in an instant. Twestival wants to maximize this potential by supporting a cause collectively with other cities that raises global media awareness and crucial funds.

So come along Twitterati or not and join Belfast and 300 other cities in an global attempt to Tweet, Meet and Give.

Contacts:

Twestival Belfast: Lorraine Anthony, Tel: 07936391996, e: lorraineanthony1@gmail.com

Twestival Belfast: Laura Kelly, Tel: 07853172975, e: elkelly85@googlemail.com

Regional co-ordinator: Abi Signorelli, Tel: 01728 668985, e: abi@abisignorelli.com

Notes for editors:

** On Thursday 25 March 2010, people in hundreds of cities around the world will come together offline to rally around the important cause of Education by hosting local events to have fun and create awareness.  Twestival™ (or Twitter Festival) uses social media for social good.

** All of the local events are organized 100% by volunteers and 100% of all ticket sales and donations go direct to projects.

** Further information at: http://twestival.com

** Find out more about Concern Worldwide here: http://www.concern.net/. All funds raised will go directly to Concern’s education projects.

** Additional resources can be found here: http://porternovelli.presslift.com/twestivalmediakit

We still need your help for Twestival. Please, please, please if anyone can help by volunteering I will literally be eternally grateful.

We need: a sound engineer who’s able and willing to take control of working out set lengths, changeovers, sound checks- all the stage management side of things basically.

Someone to look after the door- taking tickets and money from everyone coming in.

Someone to do the raffle.

Of course, we still need lots of donations for the raffle. If any of you folks can help with that, it’d be super.

On a kind of related note, I don’t know how many of you guys watch the ad’s on telly anymore, I sky+ as much as possible to avoid them but I did see the concern ad today. It’s heartbreaking, showing wee adorable kids literally starving to death. I’m not really one for those ongoing donation schemes, the chuggers annoy me and they make far too much cash doing that job and i’m always doubtful about how much moolah actually makes it to the charity but for Twestival, it literally all goes to concern!

Good news folks- Twestival Belfast is coming along rather nicely, even if I do say so myself!

I was in Slide yesterday (@slidebelfast) and it really is one of the coolest wee bars i’ve seen in a while :D  It’s the perfect place for a twestival! Right above The Little Wing, we’re going to be able to have our own entrance and everything!

Tickets also went on sale yesterday- if you’re planning on coming along I’d really love it if you can book a ticket- means we’re handling less cash plus you can do it through PayPal so it’s super-duper easy. AND it goes straight to Concern so you can start helping people right away! The link for booking tickets is - http://www.amiando.com/Twestival2010_Belfast.html

Concern are one of those charities who help thousands of people worldwide. From helping with the ongoing aid effort to attempt to rebuild life in Haiti, to helping reduce Aids and HIV they are one of the best charities to support. You can read more about what Concern do here - http://www.concern.net/

Now go and buy your tickets.

Well folks, lots of good news this week.

First off, a lovely meeting with @illusivelu where we poured over the Fate guide to try and find a venue. I came home with a rather extensive list of new venues to try. Lots of calls later, Slide have confirmed that they are free on 25th! It’s on Ann Street in Belfast, above The Little Wing (which I have heard so many good reports from) and owned by the same people as Muriel’s and The Spaniard so it’s going to be an awesome venue! (I’m very excited to take a nosy round tomorrow)

We also had a few prizes for the raffle confirmed this week! We’ve now got a Bruised Fruit goodybag, a £10 voucher for the oh so delicious Oodles Loves Noodles (Botanic Av), a voucher for a Belfast Rocks t-shirt by the lovely Claire at Tee and Toast and a voucher for four to go coasteering with Adventure Ireland.

Hopefully we’ll have more fantastic prizes for the raffle in the next few days, and a few excellent bands confirmed. Speaking of which, i’m in desperate need for someone to do sound/lighting on the night (as well as managing the bands and their diva demands)- if anyone can help either email me, tweet at @belfastwestival or comment below. If you know anyone in a band who’d like to play or dj on the night, i’d also love to hear from you!

Loves.

It’s like three weeks until Twestival. This scares me more than you will understand.

I really need your help if i’m gonna be able to make twestival happen this year…Maybe it’ll be less scary if i’ve a list of things we need and then YOU kind and wonderful folks can stick a hand in the air when you can help with it? Deal? Super!

Sponsorship and prizes- we need stuff to give away. Anything. Well maybe not *anything* but meal vouchers, free sweets, gift vouchers, food (food hampers would be sweet), booze, gig tickets, free CD’s, games. Basically, anything you would want to get as a prize and is a viable option. The plan is to offer the companies free publicity in return for their generosity. I’ll handle the PR so anyone who wants to give us a freebie will get a shout out in the press info!

If anyone wants to handle this blog (it’s wordpress and i’m sure it does fancy things I don’t care about) and keep it updated. Also twitter- I can give anyone the twestival login info and you can tweet away till your heart’s content and help spread the cheer.

Entertainment- anyone know a few decent bands or dj’s? (key word being decent :p ) We want their music. Pass on contact info (and myspace links pretty please)

Technical- I have NO, and I literally mean NO idea at how the manage all the diva demands that a band may need, lights, amps, plugs, extension leads, any of that crap. If you can take over once we have bands and a venue you will be my favourite person in the world. We’ve been offered U Stream or something (again, i’m a technophobe and don’t get it) so if you’re nifty with a video camera and fancy getting our twestival online you’re more than welcome.

PR and marketing is kinda my thang, it’s what I do so i’m happy to continue but may need some help closer to the time. Many hands and that. Also, if everyone can follow and pimp the @belfastwestival twitter account and keep harping on about how fantastic it’s gonna be to your followers it’d be fabtastic!

Big love, Lopsi.

(@lopsi)

Ok boys and girls, Twestival 2010 is on. March 25th, put it in your diaries now. Details are pretty sketchy at the minute, but the vision is basically a gig, with a few local bands, maybe a DJ or two, and lots of cute old fashioned games. Imagine sitting in a pub, chilling with a few people you know, a few you don’t and a few from t’internet, beers, good music and a stack of games (Uno, checkers, chess, jenga). What a better way to spend a night? Let it be as civilised or as messy as you wish.

See, Twestival is for charity. I’m new to the whole fundraising thing, but I helped with the race for Belfast 4 Haiti and it was a truly amazing experience.What made it particularly impressive for me, was the input from Tweeple. You guys donated a hell of a lot of time, money and things (be they buns, teabags or friends in high places) and meeting you, putting faces to the avatars was great. Raising money just made it extra special. This Twestival thing will be a night for us to hang out and have fun with none of the weirdness that i’ve experienced at other tweetups!

One last thing I want to mention - my own thoughts of Twestival were that it’s a geek thing. It’s not. I ain’t no geek. (Not that there’s anything wrong with geeks- i’m related to one) It’s one of the reasons I have never been before. Don’t let it put you off! If anyone out there wants to help- follow @belfastwestival (PLEASE NOTE THE SPELLING- Only one T!) or drop me an email to lorraineanthony1@gmail.com
Lopsi  xx

Our team of trusty volunteers are scrambling wildly to collect prizes & other assorted goodies to give away on Thursday evening. We’ll be keeping this list updated regularly — heres everything we’ve collected so far —

• 2x £25 iTunes vouchers courtesy of Tesco / @herrbenz.
• £30 worth of takeaway vouchers (+ lots of £2 voucher code leaflets) from the awesome @niftynosh.
• JSC Builders Merchants have donated a bottle of red and a bottle of white wine.
• @lookaly are kindly donating a bottle of Bushmills whiskey as a prize.

If you’re interested in donating something, @/DM @belfastwestival or email andy@goodonpaper.org.

Camphill Communities in Northern Ireland are home to over 130 very special children and adults. We provide care, support, education and work opportunities for children and adults with learning disabilities. The aim of Camphill Communities is to make sure that community members are given every possible chance to lead fulfilled and dignified lives. This is achieved through home life, meaningful work opportunities and a broad range of social and cultural experiences.

Unfortunate thing is that Camphill can’t develop and grow without additional funds and generous help from our friends. House and workshop buildings upgrades and renovations are big capital projects. With never ending changes in legislation these projects are ongoing expenses. There is also need for brand new developments like new Garden Workshop building in Glencraig or renewable energy systems. List of ideas waiting for funding is long. But it isn’t all about buildings. Communities need help with smaller projects or expenses. It could be a new minibus or a new wheelchair. Any amount of money will be put to good cause.

Camphill Communities are very heavily dependent on volunteers. Each year there are over 100 young people, from across the world, coming to gain work experience, take their gap year and have fun in international community.  If you are looking for anything like that, please get in touch with @stillOrange.

And we’re back! Twestival Local returns to Belfast on the 10th of September — we’ll be taking over the Bunatee Bar in Queen’s University Students’ Union from 7pm.

Hundreds of votes came in to decide the charity Twestival Belfast will be supporting — we’re proud to be raising funds for Camphill NI — which was established to teach, train and care for those with special needs because of their various mental, emotional and behavioral disabilities. We’ll have more from them in future blog posts, but you can read more over at their website (forgive — they’re in the process of redesigning currently!)

In the meantime, you can register your attendance now. We’ll be taking donations at the door — with a suggested entry charge of £5 — as well as organising other fundraising activities like raffles and other competitions.

Twestival is an event organised *by* twitterers *for* twitterers. We’ve an excellent team of volunteers together for this years event, all currently scrambling to organise the events entertainment & raise money for Camphill. We’ll be back soon with more on the nights festivities — look forward to seeing you there!

I think it’s safe to say that Twestival Belfast was a resounding success. Around 100 people turned up over the course of the night to drink some beer, chat with other local Twitter users, play some Rock Band and win some awesome raffle prizes. Excluding miscellaneous donations, we collectively raised over £500 for charity: water. Once again, thanks again to everyone that turned up, helped out and donated money - and we’ll see you all back again for the next Twestival Belfast!

To find out who else was there simply tweet “I was there #belfastwestival”.
Find others here.