Another VOGT Family TreeHouse Scrapbook! (posted April 30, 2016 )

WaterFire Providence® - 06 August 2005

We attended an interesting event down in Providence on the 6th of August with our friends Peter and Linda. Providence hosts weekly "festivals" where they set a hundred or more wood fires ablaze on the spur of the Providence river along Water Street, with 4-5 hours of spectacular high-fidelity music arranged in themes to accompany the visual event (the theme when we were there was Japan). It runs for about a mile along the river, and there are TONS of people and food and craft vendors. Pretty impressive!

From the WaterFire Providence® web site:
WaterFire Providence®, the award-winning sculpture by Barnaby Evans installed on the three rivers of downtown Providence, has been praised by Rhode Island residents and international visitors alike as a powerful work of art and a moving symbol of Providence’s renaissance. WaterFire’s sparkling bonfires, the fragrant scent of aromatic wood smoke, the flickering firelight on the arched bridges, the silhouettes of the firetenders passing by the flames, the torch-lit vessels traveling down the river, and the enchanting music from across the world all engage the senses and emotions of those who stroll the paths and bridges of Waterplace Park.

Barnaby Evans created First Fire in 1994 as a commission to celebrate the tenth anniversary of First Night Providence. In June 1996, Evans created Second Fire for the International Sculpture Conference where it became the gathering place for thousands of participants from all over the world. Ardent art supporters convinced Evans to create an on-going fire installation and started a grass-roots effort to establish WaterFire as a non-profit arts organization. With the support of hundreds of dedicated volunteers, generous donations from many individuals, contributions from corporate leaders and support from the City and State, WaterFire’s flickering flames now regularly return to illuminate downtown Providence.

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