Calgary Twestival draws nearer.  And the Entrepreneurship Foundation/Austin Ventures Help Haiti Fund (EF/AVHHF) has generously agreed to match any donations made now by 100% up to $100,000.

Help us unlock that money and get your ticket to Calgary Twestival by clicking on the ‘buy tickets’ link to the right.  Bring some friends too.  We all know how much more fun tweetups are when there are other people there we know, and others we don’t know.  If you need a little extra help, somebody to say, take the money you’ve collected from some office mates or friends and deliver your tickets, let us know with a DM on Twitter to @yyctwestival.  We’re happy to help.

And don’t forget, 5 other people gets you a free entry into the Trivia Challenge.

See you at the Firewater Pub & Eatery!

Did you know Trivia is the Roman Goddess of the three-way crossroads and witchcraft?  There certainly won’t be any witchcraft here, but Calgary Twestival is the place where knowledge, fun and goodwill meet for a fantastic evening with Calgary’s Twitterati at the Firewater Pub & Eatery.

We want to see who can school who when it comes to general knowledge, social media and Calgary Twitterati fact for bragging rights and other prizes.

We’ll be announcing the prizes in the coming days, so stay tuned for that.  But in the mean time, start studying.  I hear popular Calgary Twitter profiles and Concern Worldwide are a good place to start.

Details:

Entry fee: $25.00 payable at the time of your ticket purchase

The Trivia Challenge is open to a maximum of 25 people, so register early to guarantee your spot.

Twist:  If you bring 5 friends with you, we’ll waive your entry fee.  Send us a direct message on Twitter if you’d like more details.

You could:

• Buy a book
• Go out dinner
• Treat a friend to lunch
• Take your partner to the movies
• Indulge in a good bottle of wine and some good company
• Fill about 1/2 of your gas tank (at least on a medium sized car)
• Go to a Hitmen or Roughnecks game
• Enjoy a couple of drinks on a patio now that the weather is getting nicer
• Get an oil change
• Go bowling
• Hit some balls at the driving range
• Buy some new accessories, clothing or makeup
• Send a child to school for a year

An entire year of a child’s education can be funded with $28.00.  That’s all it takes.  One night out at the movies.  One afternoon on the patio. Instead, that $28.00 can send a girl to school for another year.  Did you know an extra year of primary school raises a girl’s lifetime wages by 10-20%?

So, what can you do with $28.00?

Come to Calgary Twestival.  Send a child to school for a year.  Bring a friend, since tickets are $14.00, that’s $28.00 right there.  If you can’t make it and want to help, consider donating online using the link at the top of the right hand column. That’s what you could do with $28.00.

This year, Twestival is supporting Concern Worldwide, a humanitarian organisation dedicated to reducing suffering and ending extreme poverty. Since the beginning, over 42 years ago, they have focused on improving the lives of the poorest people.

They tackle the root causes of extreme poverty.  They do this through education.  Watch the video above to learn more about Concern Worldwide.

Tweet.  Meet.  Give.  That was the slogan from 2009’s Twestival in which Calgary participated along with Edmonton and 200 other cities worldwide to raise $250,000.00 for Charity Water.

We will be joining the world again on March 25, 2010 in support of childhood education.  Concern Worldwide is an international humanitarian organization transforming the lives of the world’s poorest, most marginalized children through access to education.

Join us at the Firewater Grill for Trivia Night… with a twist.  Come test your trivia knowledge in competition with your local tweeps for prizes - or just come and cheer them on. Some of these trivia contest questions will be general knowledge, some will be about Calgary social media and Calgary social media users.

The Firewater Grill is located in Eau Claire at 222 7th Avenue SW.  We’ll kick off the event at 5:00 pm with some happy hour specials and the Trivia Contest will get underway at 7:00 pm.  And don’t worry, we’ll have the TVs tuned into the Flames game.  Tickets are $14.00 and can be purchased online or at the door.  Any tickets purchased online will be eligible for a draw prize that involves a limo to and from the event, and dinner for two at the Firewater Grill, courtesy of - The Firewater Group.

So come on out and test your knowledge, have some fun, and help us raise some funds to educate kids all over the world.

Read the Calgary Twestival press release for more details regarding the event.

We need your help! As part of Calgary Twestival, we want to raise a minimum $10,000 for Concern Worldwide, the Twestival international charity. That’s a lot of money when we’ve all just dug deep for Haiti, so in addition to event ticket sales and draw ticket sales, we’re producing a book. We need your help in producing a multi-media digital book on Social Media – by example.

What I want from you is an example of social media and a 500 word (max) story or explanation that goes with it. The video, the podcast, the Facebook or twitter campaign. The photo or music that kicked off a storm of enthusiasm or protest. The wonderful connections you’ve made in online communities, the bizarre coincidences, the worst identity theft story. Perhaps you use social media in a way most people haven’t considered. Here’s your chance to show off - for a good cause.

rapidBOOKS, a new digital publisher in Calgary will do the conversions and setups. A minimum 75% of the sales price will go to Concern Worldwide from Calgary Twestival.

To contribute, please email lyn@rapidbooks.ca

Twestival Local events are taking place in cities around the world between 10-13 September 2009. Twestival is an international movement where people meet offline for one night, have fun and do some good for an important cause in the process.

Calgary’s Twestival Local is a party, with DJ (Melissa Kuchner) at

The Auburn Saloon - 163-115 9 Avenue SE

Sat, 12/Sep/2009

doors open at 6:00 PM

Come early for a Twitter workshop 6:30 - 7:30 or join us for the party at 7:30.

Ticket sales and silent auction proceeds will all go to supply Calgary kids with lunches http://makeityourproblem.ca

Get your tickets at http://bit.ly/yycfestivals

Check out MasterMaq’s recent analysis of the Calgary Twittersphere http://bit.ly/klEOo and come on down to Twestival to meet Calgary’s Twitterati. Note: We now have more tweeters than Edmonton.

BROWN BAGit for the Kids

Start prepping your silent auction submission. Get a regular size brown paper lunch bag, fill it with your donation, and decorate it. Be prepared with it’s value and a suggested starting bid. Need help with bag decor? Come early and hand over the goods.

Hey everyone, we are nearly there. In the next 24-48hrs the first batch of Calgary Twestival Tickets will be available. There will be early bird pricing for both couples/business partners and mates who just can’t have a good time without each other and of course singles.

If you have a group that you want to book, let me know via @roger (on Twitter) or via email

Also don’t forget to join us on Twitter and Facebook!

PS. A link is already in the top right corner next to Search but it won’t work without certain details finalised and also we will tweet and Facebook the information once its ready.

Okay Calgary Tweet’ers we have a maybe in mind but we don’t think its the right fit and wanted to ask you guys/girls who were so helpful in selecting a charity to support if you have any great suggestions for a location. We need to choose one soon so your assistance would be really appreciated!

Here are the requirements and if your suggestion meets those requirements then please comment below:

1. Licensed to serve alcohol
2. No charge for the use of their location
3. Have a capacity for over 100 attendees
4. Allow us to make it a ticketed event
5. And if possible close to the downtown area so we can make it equally easy for anyone to attend.

Lets make this Twestival the best one yet and with your help we can make it happen!

Join us on Twitter and Facebook!

Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids

Hi Everyone!

I have some exciting news, as of today Brown Bagging for Calgary Kids [Website Link | Twitter Link] has been selected as the Charity Calgary Twestival will support. This means all revenue from the event and any sponsorships will flow into helping kids in Calgary.

What does Brownbagging do?

They help feed children in need at school by providing free lunches. Think about what that would me to a child who is hungry for whatever reason and some kind volunteer offered them food to sit and eat with their friends. How would that change your life experience?

Joanne’s Story

“Having hungry kids in Calgary schools is both shocking and unacceptable. To prepare and extra lunch for a child in need, is an easy  short term solution. We need to think collectively when it comes to caring for all of Calgary’s Kids. When we raised awareness about child hunger through our Paper Bag Princess campaign, parents, teachers and children responded with amazing understanding and commitment.” – Joanne

Every day, thousands of kids go hungry in Calgary. Lack of proper nutrition leads to decreased concentration in school, poor health, lack of attention and reduced academic performance.

Their future is our future. Make it your problem.

Do you have a brownbagging story? If so we would love to hear it!

FYI You can follow Calgary Twestival @yycfestivals and on Facebook.