Make WaterFire A Summer Goal

If you have never been to Providence, Rhode Island, WaterFire itself is a reason to visit.

Occurring during eight evenings this summer, WaterFire continues a local tradition that has blazed into a flaming trademark of Providence. Over ten million locals, tourists and art critics have visited on Saturday nights to enjoy over 80 fires as they are lit to a variety of music from around the globe.

“It’s a mixture of two of the most basic elements, mixing in perfect harmony,” said Siobhan Mclernon, 21, of Attleboro, MA.

Music is a key element of the artwork. WaterFire’s website claims that “the emotional character of the music is opposed to the minimalism of the sculpture—just as fire is paired with water.”

The event is free, so anyone can meander all along the river from sunset until the fires fade out at 1:00AM. Along the walkways are booths of local eateries, such as Rhode I’lin Ice Cream, Del’s Lemonade, and Taste of India.

Gondola rides float along the river, while glass blowers, gargoyle street performers and shopkeepers draw attention on shore.

Chad Bowditch, 24, of Providence appreciated the various ethnic food and the performers. “The street performers though, are really what make it,” he said, regarding the realistically garbed gargoyles.

The art’s creator, Barnaby Evans, created the first event in celebration of the tenth anniversary of First Night Providence in 1994. Encouraged by artists and fans, WaterFire expanded each year until a millennium celebration with 100 bonfires on December 31, 1999.

Although volunteers help run the events, WaterFire maintains a small year-round staff.

As an independent non-profit arts organization, WaterFire depends on donations and sponsors to maintain their 1.6 million dollar annual budget.

Yet that large figure is nothing compared to the project’s revitalization of downtown Providence. Architect Friedrich St. Florian praised WaterFire as the “crown jewel of the Providence renaissance.”