TwinsFest soldiers on: 'No one felt good about just skipping a year'

A normal TwinsFest draws more than 12,000 people to Target Field over a January weekend, and the various games, rummage sales, auctions and autograph stages raise upward of $300,000 for the Twins Community Fund, a charity that helps support food banks, educational programs and recreational activities for kids.

This year's TwinsFest, to be hosted entirely online from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, will have a physical attendance of zero. But the Twins still have some ambitious goals for their chief winter fundraiser.

"We're hoping, even in a virtual setting, that we can raise $100,000 for the community fund," said Twins President Dave St. Peter. "It's aspirational. We've never tried this. But through sponsorships, some online sales and auctions, there's a sense that that goal could be within reach."

The Twins considered canceling the event due to the pandemic this year, just as they were forced to forgo the annual Twins Caravan, Diamond Awards banquet and other offseason activities. "But nobody felt good about just skipping a year. It's been a part of our offseason since 1989."

The various programs, streamed online at twinsbaseball.com, will include player events, including a hitting lesson from Ryan Jeffers and Justin Morneau, live interviews with players like Taylor Rogers, Josh Donaldson and Royce Lewis, and a chance to ask questions of Twins owner Jim Pohlad, president of baseball operations Derek Falvey, and St. Peter.

Most segments during the seven-hour event will be live, though a few segments have been prerecorded. A full schedule is available at twinsbaseball.com.