AUSTIN, Texas — Minutes after arriving in downtown Austin, Texas, for the South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Conference and Festival, I ran into a Japanese friend from Tokyo. While we were catching up, an American woman passing by overheard him mention Japan and instantly stopped to shake his hand. "I'm so incredibly sorry for what's happened to your country," she said before continuing on her way.
This year marked the 25th anniversary of SXSW, one of the largest music events in the world. Along with showcasing 2,000 acts from 61 countries from March 16-20, SXSW 2011 also acted as fundraiser to aid earthquake and tsunami victims in Japan.
Posters were hung at the Austin Convention Center encouraging fest-goers to make donations to the American Red Cross relief efforts in Japan by text message. T-shirts bearing the slogan "Help Save Japan @ SXSW" were sold and collection buckets were placed at selected venues. The original goal was to raise $10,000, but organizers soon decided to push for $100,000. They were successful. As of Tuesday morning at 10 a.m., SXSW had collected $104,141 (¥8.4 million)for Japan.