Twitterers Worldwide Gather for Twestival

On Feb. 12, more than 200 cities worldwide will hold events to foster networking within local Twitter communities as well as raise funds for charity: water, a nonprofit that installs wells and rainwater harvesting systems in developing countries.

Amanda Rose, the architect behind the multicity Twitter festivities, said Twestival grew out of a smaller get-together held in London last September to benefit a local soup kitchen. “Originally, I thought it was going to be 30 people in a pub doing karaoke,” she said. “But we ended up having 250 people show up.” Ms. Rose said the London event brought in about £1,000 and several boxes of canned goods, and planted the seeds for a much larger event, spanning several international cities.