A couple months back I was presented with an opportunity to organize a great charity event in Toronto called TwestivalTO. The first “Twestival”, or “Twitter festival”, was held in London, England this past September. The party raised money for a local charity, and was such a success that the organizers decided to do it on a global scale. On February 12th, 2009, cities all around the world held their Twestivals for charity: water (the charity of choice), with global sponsors like Amiando and TipJoy as well as organizers in cities from NYC to Paris to Toronto. Sarah Prevette and I were lucky enough to play a leading role in Toronto’s participation and the experience was something I’ll never forget.

In the end, Twestival went down on February 12th in over 120 cities around the world. The Toronto event was a huge success – nearly 600 people attended and we raised over $10,000 for charity: water. Suffice it to say that I saw, first-hand, how a great event for a great cause can move Torontonians to care for, give to, and help the people around them. When I was presented with the opportunity to get involved with Pay It Backward Day, naturally, I said yes!

You can expect some of the same magic that we saw from TwestivalTO, back again with Pay It Backward TO. I’ve managed to wrangle in a few of the magicians from Twestival (@casiestewart and @skanwar) and recruit a few more of my favourite web personalities. Toronto has pulled off events like this before (TwestivalTO for example) and I’m really hoping that with Pay It Backward Day, we can solidify this city as one of the world’s most active and kind.

See everyone there!

Oh… and here’s some of the fun that was had at TwestivalTO.

TwestivalTO > Feb 12/09 from Suresh on Vimeo.