PhiLAnthropist Interview: Ben Morrison on 'Twestival' and Charity: Water

Photo courtesy of Ben Morrison.

Thursday, February 12th is shaping up to be a busy night for LA, especially in terms of tech-related events. In addition to Twiistup, LA will also host it's first 'Twestival', an event happening in 200 cities all over the world, to benefit Charity:Water, an organization dedicated to providing developing nations with clean water. 'Twestival' takes advantage of the power of Twitter to bring people together for a charitable cause and to drive change.

First off, what LA Neighborhood do you call home?

Armeni-Thai-Mexi-Korea-town, with a Ralph's across the street.

How did the event come about?

I honestly don't know. I hopped on Twitter, someone mentioned they needed help with this thing, and next thing i know I'm helping to organize an all star charity event with a group of strangers I really like. I don't really get it either.

How did you get involved with Charity: Water and Twestival?

I found Charity: Water through my involvement with Twitter. Charity: Water's simple goal made so much sense to me and I feel lucky to help - I think all us strangers who've met on this do.

What is your role with Twestival?

I am acting as the Host / Emcee / Producer of the live-portion of the evening. I'm trying to produce the show I've always wanted to go to, dancing, comedy and this overriding sense that you're doing something good and having a great time doing it.

What other volunteering and charity work do you do?

A lot actually. I do a one-man show about how funny my Crohn's Disease is called Pain in the Ass, and I've performed it for charities and patients for 5 years. I do outreach to sick people all the time - teaching them how to use laughter to deal with their disease. On the non-auto-immune-disorder-tip I did 2 years in the Be A Mentor program, which is like the big brother program but for children of incarcerated parents. It constantly challenged to man up and stay in this kids life and I wound up seeing and doing a whole bunch of things I would never have done, plus the zoo is lot less depressing with a 3 year old. I'm proud to add Charity : Water to the list - the dirty water these people are forced to drink causes sever intestinal pain. I can tell you from experience there isn't much worse, and I have clean water.

What sets Twestival apart from other festivals or fundraisers?

That we set this whole thing up in a two weeks using the internet? That you'd be floored by what you can get when you just ask? That I get to book dream show because the cause is so legit? That if a byproduct of connectivity is synergy and salvation then send me an e-mail? Could be a lot of things.

So far would you say the Twitter aspect has been successful in helping spread the word to a greater audience?

Oh hells yeah. Twitter is much bigger than I ever imagined. Let me tell you how I found this out. My managers told me I had an audition in the morning for CSI... In Gaelic. I asked how exactly I was supposed to learn a dead Irish dialect overnight and my manager responded with that shoulder-shrug you can hear over the phone. So, figuring I had nothing to lose, I hopped on Twitter and sent a message asking if anyone out there could pronounce Gaelic. An hour later I had more incoming Gaelic the Dublin airport. I was floored. This was talking to everyone around the world who chose to listen, at one. And as it turns out, the Irish are some fantastic listeners.

What goals do you have for the LA Twestival?

I want to produce an evening of entertainment as remarkable as the cause that brought it together.

Are there plans to host more Twestival-like events?

As of right now no, but then none of us can think much beyond Thursday. Given what we've been able to pull together in such a short amount of time though, I wouldn't be surprised.

What have the highlights been so far?

The highlight for me has really been the number of old friends I've gotten in touch with about this. because it's all for Charity: Water I don't have to deal with whose-getting-paid-what conversations and it's allowed me to reach out to a huge breadth of awesome people. I've called everyone I ever met in the three years I've lived in this trippy city and I don't know why I didn't do this sooner.

Describe your best LA dining experience.

That's not an easy question to answer, I've had so many good ones. (LA does food good).

But If had to pick I'd say either buzzed Korean Barbecue or this sushi joint in little Tokyo with fish so fresh they talked back.

LA has the best:

Observatory. Have you BEEN up there since it re-opened?! PCHEWWWW! (Sound of my mind being blown... Like the energy rings in "The Secret", but based in science).

What is your LA pet peeve?

Rush hour traffic in my flamboyant manual Nissan. Things purple. I'm moving six feet in three hours workin' gears like Willy Wonka's soda-car lookin' like Grimace ate me. Need them stocks to go up.

What is the "center" of LA to you?

Honestly, my neighborhood, just east of where the 101 hits Hollywood. It's got reps from every walk - Armenians buying groceries from Koreans who don't trust the Mexicans that cook the food in Thai restaurants. It's like a blue-collar Benetton add. Plus you can GET to anywhere from there - aside from heavy rush-hour there isn't much that you can't get to by flooring it in 20.

Join Ben and many others, including iJustine, Mahalo's Leah D'Emilio and Fear Factor's Joe Rogan at Thursday's Twestival. For more, check out Live Earth's Twestival video site. Then go buy your tickets which start at $20 and 100% of the proceeds go directly to Charity:Water.

And it's not to late to get involved! Volunteers are still needed, follow the LA Twestival on Twitter or email Ben for more opportunities on how to become a part of Twestival.