We have $$ in now and are happy to report that Twestival Phoenix Local raised $9,332 for St. Mary’s Food Bank.

This was almost double the $4,700 we raised at the first Twestival Phoenix event and well above our $7,000 goal.

St. Mary’s Food Bank tells us that because of the money raised at Twestival Phoenix, they will now be able to distribute enough food into the community to provide over 65,000 meals.

They also let us know that:

• @StMarysFoodBank went from 83 followers before the event to 283 by the end of the night Friday
• They were the topic of countless tweets and many media hits they wouldn’t have otherwise received
• They doubled the average number of hits for a Friday on their www.firstfoodbank.org website

Of course this event wouldn’t have been possible without a ton of folks.

HUGE thanks to…

…the folks that helped pull Twestival Phoenix together.

• Heather Lee: @aussieheather
• Jenny Carnie:  @jennycarnie
• Blair Hatfield: @blairhatz
• Amanda Blum: @amandablum

• Matthew Petro: @matthewpetro
• Andrew Knochel: @andrewkfromaz
• Stephanie Simmons: @ousooner44
• Nikki Foster: @Nikkibee314
• Joe Garcia: @butterandme
• Yuri & Linda Artibise: @yuriartibise
• Joe Tech: @joetech
• Debra Avery: @jazzpastord
• Wesley Novack: @wesleytech
• Nick Hammond: @nickhammond

You can still support Twestival Phoenix and donate to @StMarysFoodBank.

Any donations made through this form will be logged against the Twestival Phoenix efforts.

http://bit.ly/tphxsmary

We are still waiting on a couple items listed here and may well have a few other come in. To the best of our knowledge at the present time, the following is what we expect to have tonight.

Raffle Items - as we know now:

Babaloos Cuban Café: Gift Certificate - Dinner For 2

Butcher Bob: $50 Gift Card

Cartel Coffee Lab @CartelCoffeeLab: 4 Bags Coffee

Dos Gringos @DosScottsdale: 2 Gift Baskets / Gift Cards

Havana Cafe @HavanaCafeAZ: $50 Gift Certificate

Humble Pie: Pizza

Joe’s Real BBQ @JoesRealBBQ: 10 X $15 Gift Cards

Kathleen Forden @kforden: Candy Basket

Liberty Market @libertymarket: $25 Gift Card

Lisa G Winebar @lisagwinebar: $50 Gift Certificate

Lulu’s Cupcakes @luluscupcakesaz: Gift Card For 16 Cupcakes

M. R. Designs and Gifts @azgiftbaskets: Cowboy Gift Basket

My Big Fat Greek Restaurant: $20 Gift Card

Nesta Home @nestahome: Desk Calendar

Oregano’s @OreganosPizza: 2 T-Shirts & $25 Giftcard

Pei Wei @peiwei: 4 X $25 Gift Cards

Petit Fromage @PetitFromageAZ: $25 Gift Cert

Phoenix Design Week @phxdw: 2 @Phxdw Tickets

Pretty Baby Naturals: $50 Gift Certificate

The Farm Kitchen @TheFarmArizona: $25 Gift Certificate

Silent Auction Items - as we know now:

Allison North Designs: Fine Silver Custom Personalized Charm

aloft Tempe @alofttempe: Night Stay

AquaSafe @AquaSafe: 2 Months Swim Lessons

Arizona Wine Growers Festival at the Farm @azwineries: 4 Tickets to Festival at the Farm $65 Each (multiple packages)

Asia de Cuba @ADCScottsdale: Gift Certificate - Dinner For 4

ASU Gammage @ASUGammage: 2 Tickets To Legally Blonde

AZ Cardinals: Beanie Wells Football

Ballet Arizona @BalletArizona: 2 Tix To Nutcracker & Signed Pointe Shoes

Boyd Coleman @leaky_tiki: Landscape Architecture

Bucca Di Beppo: $100 Gift Card

CBS Outdoor @sherilynmclain: 30 Days Digital Ad Space At Tempe Mktplce

Clarendon Hotel @clarendonhotel: 2 Night Stay In Pool View Suite

Clarendon Hotel @clarendonhotel: 1 Night Stay In Pool View Suite

Competitive Fitness @competitivefit: 3 Month Pass

Cowboy Ciao @ciaomari: Gift Cert: Lunch For 4 Or Dinner For 2

Crave AZ @CraveAZ: 4 Tickets To Crave Az $75 Each (multiple packages)

Crystal Root @CrystalRoot: Product Basket

Digestif @ciaomari: Gift Cert: Chefs Tasting Menu For 2

Fairytale Brownies @ftbrownies: $50 Gift Basket

Hand and Stone Massage Spa Paradise Valley @HandandStonePV:50 minute massage

Heard Museum @heardmuseum: 8 Museum Passes

Howling Zoe Productions @howlingzoe: 2 Hr Private Wordpress Lesson

Jack Carter Golf: 1-hour Private Golf Lesson (2)

Josh Simons Photography @JSimonsPhoto: Illustrated Photo Shoot/Edit (2 5X7 1 8X10)

Kabuki @KabukiCorporate: $75 Gift Card

Kabuki @KabukiCorporate: $75 Gift Card

Kazimierz World Wine Bar @ciaomari: Gift Cert: Wine Flights/Apps For 4 Guests

Kyle Jordre @Jordre: Original Painting

Lux Coffee @luxcoffee: 100 Lux Bucks

Lux Coffee @luxcoffee: 2 Lbs Lux Coffee And Cookies

M. R. Designs and Gifts @azgiftbaskets: Cowgirl Gift Basket

Manomio @manomio: Wine And Chocolate Gift Basket

Matador Coffee @matadorcoffee: $10 Gift Certificate & 2 Bags Coffee

Melissa Lee @msleetutors: Handmade Necklace

My Gym @MyGymAZ: 1 Month And Membership Signup

Nesta Home @nestahome: 3 Matted Pictures

Phoenix Knife House @phxknifehouse: Hiro 220Mm Vg10 Chef Knife

Phoenix Suns @SunsCommunity: Leandro Barbosa Signed Jersey

Phoenix Suns @SunsWebmaster: Regular Season Suite Package W/20 Tickets

Quiessence @Quiessence: $50 Gift Certificate

Radio Milano @radiomilano: $100 Gift Certificate

Raising Arizona Kids @RAKmagazine: 2 Year Subscription

RJD Creative @rjdcreative: 2 Hour Branding/Design/Social Media Strategy Session

Robert Paul Salon Chandler @robertpaulsalon: $40 Gift Certificate (multiple packages)

rYnoweb @chuckreynolds: $500 Seo Package

Schnepf Farms @schnepf_farms: 10 Vip Tickets To Schnepf Farms Pumpkin & Chili Party

Splinter Creative @SplintrCreative: $400 Html Email Blast Design Package

Sportiqe @sportiqe: Heineken/Us Open Pack

Sportiqe @sportiqe: Asu T-Shirt Pack

Sportiqe @sportiqe: Ohio State Shirt Pack

Sportiqe @sportiqe: Womens Us Open Pack

Sunflower Mkt Miller Rd @SunflowerMkt: Bottle Wine & $50 Gift Card

SuTRA Midtown Yoga @sutramidtown: Sutra 60-Minute Fusion Massage

Synergy @iboughtamac: 5 Hour Design Package

Tyson Crosbie @tysoncrosbie: Signed Fine Art Print

W Scottsdale @WScottsdale: 2 Night Stay At W Hotel

We are excited to have Kyle Jordre (@jordre) sponsoring Twestival Phoenix!

Kyle is an abstract impressionist painter based here in Phoenix. He doesn’t use brushes but manufacturers many of his own tools.

As an interesting twist, Kyle is bringing 3 separate pieces to the event.  We will do 1 silent auction and the winner will get their choice of the 3.  100% of the proceeds will go to St. Mary’s Food Bank.

The 3 pieces Kyle is bringing are:

12″ x 48″ stretched canvas

5″ x 5″ stretched canvas squares 16″ x 20″ canvas board w/frame (20″ x 28″ total)

Artist Statement:

when i paint, i get lost…

i get lost in a world where i wonder about things that trouble me…

i express myself without reservation… fear and anxiety don’t paralyze me… problems arise, solutions abound.

time does not drag, nor is it fleeting.

anger subsides, and frustrations grow.

my mind is made up, and my beliefs are challenged.

arguments become heated.

justice and peace are ideals for those that dream; pessimism and reality don’t allow the dreamers to sleep.

i forget.

i remember.

when i paint, i find myself again…..

To learn more about Kyle and see a great deal more of his art, check out the website at http://www.jordre.com.

Follow @jordre on Twitter

See a video about Kyle and his work.

Infusionsoft has stepped it up again for Twestival for the second year in a row! Their $1,000 donation last year enabled us to book the venue and provide drinks and apps.

This year, they have donated $1,000 again as our event sponsor. They are covering the cost of drink tickets and venue fees at aloft Tempe. Huge, huge thanks to Infusionsoft for their strong support of the local Twestival efforts!!!

As a major supporter of Twestival Phoenix, Infusionsoft makes it possible for hundreds of people to connect and rally for a cause that matters. This year, St. Mary’s Food Bank, benefits from the cause. St. Mary’s Food Bank, the world’s first food bank, is a non-profit organization that distributes food to locations where people need it most.

While Infusionsoft focuses on making great marketing software for small business, they love engaging and giving back to the community.  Infusionsoft has a major presence on Twitter with many of their employees tweeting (est. 75) and they make use of multiple service accounts. Infusionsoft has also supported many other community events such as Ignite Phoenix and Phoenix Startup Weekend.

More information on St. Mary’s Food Bank and the hunger issue in Arizona from Terry Shannon, CEO of St. Mary’s Food Bank.

With today’s economic conditions, they are seeing a 70% increase in the amount of food they are donating over last year.

A pound of food equates to about a meal. On a daily basis, St. Mary’s is distributing 300,000 meals worth of food a day.

Thanks to the generous help of Brand X Custom T-Shirts and Splinter Creative we have CUSTOMIZABLE Twestival Phoenix t-shirts available for sale!

The t-shirts are $15 and are available in a variety of colors.  All are customizable with your own Twittername!  Just put your twittername in the notes when you make your purchase.

Order your t-shirt before the event and pick it up at Twestival Phoenix! (If you were to miss the event (please don’t), Brand X Custom T-Shirts is just down the street.

@splintrcreative donated the designs and @brandxtshirts is donating all services and handling the transactions. HUGE thanks to @blairhatz and @charlesgoffnett for making this happen!

All proceeds will go to @StMarysFoodBank.

Go to the Brand X Twestival Phoenix site to see colors and options or click on your favorite design to go directly to it.

UPDATES:

• Note that the t-shirts are American Apparel.
• Women’s cut t-shirts are also available. Specify in the purchase notes (along with your @twittername) if you need.
• Twitternames will be plotted on the back of the shirt if not otherwise noted.
• You will get the notes box after the Pay Pal credit card info page but before you click Pay Now. Click the Add special instructions to merchant hyperlink + to expand the section.
• –> 2 ADDITIONAL NEW DESIGNS UP AT THE STORE < –

As aloft Tempe does not have a full service kitchen, they were gracious enough to let us bring in our own food.

A number of local restaurants/operators on Twitter have stepped up and donated their food and services for our event!

We greatly appreciate their support. Please support them as well!

@butterandme - bringing their excellent cupcakes

@ftbrownies -  bringing their killer magic morsels

@joesreslbbq - bringing their awesome mini bbq sliders and other apps

@PetitFromageAZ - bringing a selection of of their artisan cheese

@SweetRepublic - bringing their amazing artisan ice cream

@WildflowerBread - bringing their wonderful bakery treats

If you know any other businesses interested in donating food to Twestival Phoenix, have them contact us @TwestivalPhx or twestivalphx@gmail.com.

Artist Tyson Crosbie (tysoncrosbie.com) has come through huge for Twestival Phoenix.

He has generously donated a signed fine art print to Twestival Phoenix Local.

And in addition to that, Tyson has donated his photographic services (including any subsequent image licensing fees) to shoot the Twestival Phoenix Local event.

Description of Piece:

“Phoenix 21 9“ by TYSON CROSBIE.  Signed fine art print.

The piece is valued at $495.

“Phoenix 21 9″ is a 20×24 inch original fine art photograph from his most recent series Phoenix 21. Photographs of the artist appear to be abstract paintings or collages from many sources. However, the artists work is actually composed of un-manipulated photographic images of found objects.

“It is more than what I see and photograph, it transcends the object and touches on psychology, philosophy, emotion and expression. What others see is up to them and varies widely, however the best experience is to know yourself better after viewing the work.” — Tyson Crosbie

lyingtotellthetruth.com

The folks at aloft Tempe are excited to host our event on September 11, 2009. It will run from 6 pm to 9 pm. We are quite excited!

We had three main things we were looking for when selecting a venue for Twestival Phoenix. We wanted to find a great space that would work for our mixer/silent auction, needed a location that was easily accessible and somewhat central, and wanted a venue partner that would enable us to direct the maximum amount of funds to our charity. The less money needed to sponsor the venue/food/drink, the more we could funnel into our fundraising efforts.

aloft Tempe helped us in all aspects.

First of all, it’s just a very cool space. It looks great and it’s perfect for the #phx technology crowd. There are about a zillion power points scattered throughout the lobby. They have wifi and will be granting us free access throughout the night. They are also giving us access to the entire downstairs lobby and back lawn spaces.

aloft Tempe also is pretty centrally located off Scottsdale Rd. and the 202 freeway. It is also quite near the 101.

In addition, they are not charging us any minimums at all. We will have an event sponsor that will cover the included drink for each participant, which aloft Tempe is providing at discount. And since they do not have extensive capactity for food, they are allowing us to bring in our own food without limitation or charge.

They are providing happy hour prices for all from 5 pm to 7 pm. Drink tickets will be redeemable from 7 pm on.

With regard to anything they have control over, they have been completely flexibile. They have accomodated pretty much every request they could.

We will set up tables in the front to enable ticket purchase and check in like we did at the last event. We will have food stations in different areas around the lobby. And we use tactic, their meeting room, for our silent auction.

aloft Tempe  has also donated a night stay for us to use in our silent auction.

And finally, aloft Tempe is providing $99 discounted room rates for Twestival Phoenix attendees for the night of the event. The rooms are killer btw.

Follow aloft Tempe at @aloftTempe.

Public Transportation Update from David_SB:

As there is a growing contingent of Phoenix tweeple who are car-free or who use aim to use public transit when possible, route info leading to @aloftTempe:

Bus 76 stops right outside the hotel & Bus 72 stops a block away on Rural Road/Scottsdale Road. Both connect to light rail at the Tempe Transportation Center.