Have you bought your tickets for Knoxville Twestival yet? Tickets are available on the Twestival site (see previous link), and will also be available at the door.

What? You have no idea what Twestival is? Well, let me get you caught up...

Knoxville Twestival is part of a charitable event taking place in communities all around the world during August and September. The
local Twestival is co-sponsored by Social Media Club, Knoxville Overground, and the Knoxville Social Media Association, and it uses the power of the local digital community to encourage people to support a specific local charity effort. This year's fundraising recipient for Knoxville Twestival is The Salvation Army.

The crowd-sourced, viral process by which The Salvation Army was chosen was unique, and was the brainchild of the volunteers behind Knoxville Twestival planning. Beginning August 1, Knoxville-area, non-profit organizations were encouraged to fill out an online form at the Knoxville Twestival site explaining they should be chosen as the designated charity for this year’s Twestival event. All entries received by Friday, August 7 were then published on the Knoxville Twestival blog, where readers were able to cast an online vote for their favorite charity. Voting was driven via social media, as supporters of each charity encouraged their friends and followers on Twitter and Facebook to go cast an online ballot on their charity's behalf. In the end, 35 charities were submitted for consideration, and close to 4,000 votes were cast.

Voting ended at 5pm August 11, and at 6pm the same day, a panel of representatives of Twestival's three co-sponsoring organizations each cast a single vote to choose the winning charity from among the top three online vote getters. The Salvation Army emerged the winner, and Twestival fundraising efforts on the charity's behalf began.

Twestival organizers and supporters, as well as fans of The Salvation Army, will tap into their own online social networks to drive
donations during the fundraising period via the Salvation Army button that is now live on the Knoxville Twestival site. Fundraising efforts will culminate with the September 10 Twestival event from 7-10 pm at The Knoxville Zoo, featuring live entertainment, as well as food and drinks.

Twestival attendees are in for a real treat, because a great group of acclaimed local performers will be on stage at The Zoo that night. Twestival performers are:

Todd Steed

Chris & Jay

Stewart Pack and the Special Kays (featuring Jeff Bills of the late, great V-Roys)

Leslie Woods, featuring Sarah Griscom and Jeff Schaefenocker

Econopop

Randall Brown

The Lonetones

There will also be a silent auction at Twestival, with a fantastic (and growing) selection of items up for grabs, including everything from a guitar signed by members of U2 to gift certificates from Nama and Glowing Body, and lots more. Look for more details later this week on the complete list of silent auction items.

We'll have beer donated by Cherokee Distributing at the event, as well as wine and some tasty food (think hotdogs and funnel cake type-stuff)

100% of all funds raised via the Twestival site, as well as all money collected for silent auction items and ticket sales will go directly to The Salvation Army.

So go pick up a ticket or two now, over at the Twestival site. This will be a beautiful early fall evening of Knoxville music and socializing in a fun setting, and it's all for a truly fantastic cause. You don't want to miss it!

We would also be grateful if you would consider mentioning Twestival (and linking to this KnoxViews blog post, or directly to the Twestival site) on your own blog, Facebook page or Twitter feed. Please help us spread the word. And last, if your business would like to offer items for the silent auction, or a cash sponsorship, contact Nikka Harvey at nikkaharvey@gmail.com.

For more information about Knoxville Twestival, contact us:

Nicole Van Scoten at nicole.vanscoten@gmail.com
Katie Allison Granju at katie.granju@gmail.com
Alex Lavidge at a.lavidge@gmail.com