The Twestival came to town this past Thursday at The Roxy and it brought with it great people, great music, and a fantastic spirit of giving and community.

With hundreds of people in attendance packing the famous LA venue, The Roxy was a buzz with the energy of offline reunions, first time IRL introductions, drinks, laughs, and Foursquare check-ins. In it’s 3rd year of operating, the Twestival movement, (a global charity movement making use of Social Media to promote and build awareness for organizations), the LA Twestival was a great event and was a small part in the movement raising well over $350,000 to fund new schools, teachers, supplies and more to underprivileged areas around the world for Operation: Concern.

Hit the jump for the full-wrap up and photos of the event, including a unique picture courtesy of Polite in Public photobooth who were snapping the night away.

By the time I arrived at The Roxy, the festivities had already began. The lobby was filled with excited Twesitval attendees checking in at the desk (and on foursquare), taking pictures by the repeat banner in the lobby, laughing and generally taking part in the high-energy vibes of excitement and anticipation the night held.

Making our way inside past the hustle and bustle of the check-in area, we surveyed The Roxy (it was my first time there so I was definitely curious). As I walked the floor, the crowd was peppered with familiar faces of friends with whom I’ve interacted with both on and offline (shout out to @mayhemstudios, @3lunches, @jeffrago, @dvinMsM, @mattarevalo, @hardlynormal, @techfrog, @jonathan360, @niecee, @kphamsmiles, @epicskin, @cindywang10 and more) as well as people that I’d yet to have the opportunity to meet offline (@marshacollier, @alanajoy, @krupali, @ohdoctah, @chrisvoss. This is one of the best benefits of attending these events, allowing you to build upon those relationships with people you interact with frequently online. There were also a couple well-known faces in the crowd (shown above): @iJustine and @tayzonday.

As we were walking, the music had already been underway with 16 year-old DJ prodigy and music blogger Jake Simon spinning on stage pumping some major bass into the room and a small crowd had already begun to develop. This stage would later be home to the hosts of the night Shira Lazar and Derrick Ashong, who did a great job keeping the crowd involved and the energy alive during the breaks between musical acts which featured alternative singer Metric (Help I’m Alive), another band and 2 more DJ’s who would keep the night moving with their unique sounds and styles (props to DJ Mike Relm for his remix of the song “Imagine”).

After the performance, raffles, drinks, and smoke cleared, the group of us (around 20-30) people decided to make our way down for some post-event #NOMNOM’s at Mel’s Drive-In. A ritual that has come to be a favorite of mine when ever I’m in LA with this group of the usual suspects. On top of the fact that I had yet to eat at this famous late-night eatery, this impromptu post-events usually are just as much fun as the actual event, as we sit together laughing, recounting stories of the night, and reviewing or taking pictures keeping the good natured spirit of the night going into the late night hours.

As we left Mel’s, much fuller and significantly more tired, I couldn’t help but take a moment to appreciate this event, that not only a few years ago was not even a thought in somebody’s head. A testament to the ability of Social Media building relationships and making a difference.

A big shout out to all of the LA Twestival team involved in putting this great event together this year. Check out more photos in the gallery below or on the full album. Also, be sure to follow any of these people on Twitter and give them a big thanks for allowing us to have such a great event for such a great cause. @twestival @amanda @ShiraLazar @ashong, @nicadler @theroxy @Rynda @StaceySoleil @BrianWilkins @pago @DamienMedia @chrisvoss @Causecast @Ustream @DigitalLA @digitalfamily @GITweet@NewMediaVault @LiveEarth @smc_la @TechZulu @Tubefilter @WITI @whatgives @metric @juliespira @veev @popchips @laweekly @buzznet @thrillistla