We are always looking to create a better experience for WaterFire visitors. This year we are introducing new digital payments technology, Square Wallet, for all Official WaterFire merchandise purchases and donations made at the Official WaterFire Store or at Official WaterFire Guest Stations throughout the installation. No more fumbling for cash or credit cards in the dark! 

What is Square Wallet?

Square Wallet is a smart phone app securely linked to your credit or debit card which allows you to keep your “old school” wallet in your pocket and make transactions simply by name. Square Wallet is compatible with Apple devices running iOS 5.0 and up and Android devices running Android 2.2 and up.

WaterFire staff will be using Square Register at the Official WaterFire Store and at all Official WaterFire Guest Stations throughout the installation which will allow us and you to handle a quick, friction free, personal transaction. Here’s an Associated Press story about how it works:

Why should you download the Square Wallet app?

• Convenience: Square Wallet will allow you to avoid fumbling for your wallet, credit cards or cash in the dark at WaterFire. In fact, you don’t even have to take your phone out of your pocket, the WaterFire Square Register will immediately recognize you if your phone is on and the app is installed.
• Speed: Square transactions are fast! You don’t have to dig through your pockets looking for cash or credit cards and we don’t have to worry about making change for that $100 bill.
• Receipts: Need a receipt for your transaction? No problem, we can instantaneously email one to you.
• Special Offers: Last, but certainly not least, if you have Square Wallet installed on your smartphone, we’ll be giving you some exclusive special offers not available to other WaterFire visitors.
  • The first time you use Square Wallet to make a purchase at the  Official WaterFire Store or at any of the Official WaterFire Guest Stations throughout the installation, you will receive 25% off your entire purchase.
  • After that you will be automagically enrolled in the WaterFire rewards programs where after completing ten purchases or donations of $10 dollars or more throughout the 2013 season you will receive $10 off at your next purchase.

But it’s not just about WaterFire. Here’s what else can Square Wallet do for you:

• Easily share Merchant Gift Cards with friends and family
• Keep track of purchase history
• Browse the Square Directory to see which other local merchants are accepting payments with Square Wallet.

Earlier this week we were excited to learn that we are a semifinalist in the ArtsFwd 2013 Business Unusual National Challenge. In order to advance to the final round, we need you to visit their website and vote for WaterFire Providence. Actually, we need you to vote for WaterFire every single day through May 31, 2013. I know it’s a lot to ask

What’s the 2013 Business Unusual National Challenge?

The 2013 Business Unusual National Challenge is an ArtsFwd initiative created “to crowdsource bright minds in and outside the arts sector to tackle the most significant challenges facing organizations today.” From their website, ArtsFwd is “looking for the kind of challenges that have no obvious solution, no set procedures, and no recognized experts – we call these adaptive challenges.”

Here’s Richard Evans, president of EmcArts, the creator of  the ArtsFwd Business Unusual National Challenge explaining a little more about this competition.

Introducing the Business Unusual Challenge from ArtsFwd on Vimeo.

What’s WaterFire’s “adaptive challenge?”

You can read about our adaptive challenge on the ArtsFwd website but in brief it involves developing a new business model that gets more of WaterFire’s vast range of beneficiaries to contribute (“invest”) in the artwork so that it can continue to create significant cultural and economic impacts for the community and inspire visitors and residents alike long into the future.

WaterFire is an admission free event that has very real costs to produce. And while nearly everyone loves it, a incredibly small percentage actually support it. We need to work together to figure out a way to increase those numbers or long term sustainability will be challenging.

What can you do to help us make it to the final round?

It’s simple. Please vote for WaterFire Providence every single day through May 31, 2013.

If you would like a daily email reminder, please click here and we’ll send you something nice each morning with a link to the voting page. If you sign up for daily reminders we’ll enter your name for a chance to win one of these great prizes: An opportunity for you and a guest to participate in lighting WaterFire, a Brazier Society Experience for you and a guest or a framed photo of WaterFire signed by WaterFire creator and artistic director Barnaby Evans.*

We know we have the best friends and fans anywhere and we thank you in advance for all of your great support in the 2013 Business Unusual National Challenge!

*Three winners will be chosen at random from all of the daily reminder sign-ups.

We have dozens of exciting items, everything from lunch with WaterFire creator and artistic director Barnaby Evans, to Brazier Society memberships, and gift certificates to many Rhode Island area restaurants.

Featured Items Include:

• 2 Tickets to Wicked the Musical on Broadway
• A weekend time share in Newport during the Newport Jazz Festival
• 4 Passes to Chan’s Jazz and Blues Club in Woonsocket
• $100 of Merchandise from the WaterFire Store
• 1 Year of Free Parking in Downtown Providence

Bidding is open now  and will run through Friday, May 24th, so remember to bid early and bid often. Proceeds from this auction will go to directly support WaterFire’s operating costs for the 2013 events season

Grant is one of 817 NEA Art Works grants totaling $26.3 million in funding nationwide

Providence, RI — National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) Acting Chairman Joan Shigekawa announced today that WaterFire Providence is one of 817 nonprofit organizations nationwide to receive an NEA Art Works grant. WaterFire is recommended for a $50,000 grant to support and measure creative placemaking projects in Providence, RI.

WaterFire Providence’s Livability Experiments project is an expansion of activities during its multidisciplinary urban arts event in downtown Providence, RI. WaterFire will create, develop, present, and analyze up to seven new interactive, collaborative arts activities which will include fire performances, guerilla art events, street band interventions, a Bolivian Aymara festival, a Native American powwow, and a public art project featuring furniture designed by students at the Rhode Island School of Design. WaterFire will also partner with Rhode Island College’s Program in Geography and Department of Political Science in researching creative placemaking outcomes associated with their Livability Experiments project.

Acting Chairman Shigekawa said, “The National Endowment for the Arts is proud to support these exciting and diverse arts projects that will take place throughout the United States. Whether it is through a focus on education, engagement, or innovation, these projects all contribute to vibrant communities and memorable opportunities for the public to engage with the arts.”

In August 2012, the NEA received 1,547 eligible applications for Art Works grants requesting more than $80 million in funding. Art Works grants support the creation of art that meets the highest standards of excellence, public engagement with diverse and excellent art, lifelong learning in the arts, and the strengthening of communities through the arts. The 817 recommended NEA grants total $26.3 million and span 13 artistic disciplines and fields. Applications were reviewed by panels of outside experts convened by NEA staff and each project was judged on its artistic excellence and artistic merit.

WaterFire Providence creator and executive artistic director Barnaby Evans said, “Providence has been at the forefront of the creative placemaking movement because we have so many incredibly innovative arts organizations and artists as well as supportive local, state and federal government leaders. We are honored to have been awarded an NEA grant to continue to advance our work of using public art to inspire, build and transform community.”

For a complete listing of projects recommended for Art Works grant support, please visit the NEA website at arts.gov.

WaterFire Providence is a 501(c)3 independent, non-profit arts organization whose mission is to inspire Providence and its visitors by revitalizing the urban experience, fostering community engagement and creatively transforming the city by presenting WaterFire for all to enjoy. Created in 1994 by the artist Barnaby Evans, each year approximately one million visitors come to Providence to experience WaterFire making it one of the largest tourist attractions in the State of Rhode Island.

The Extraordinay Rendition Band performs during a street band intervention in Kennedy Plaza. Photo by Erin Smithers.

A couple of years ago, I saw on my Facebook feed that WaterFire needed help making origami cranes to enclose with letters to donors.  I’d just moved to Providence a little while back, and I was badly under-employed and pretty depressed about it, so I figured, hey, if I’m going to sit around and be depressed, I can certainly make cranes while I do.

Photo by John Simonetti

What started out as folding paper eventually led to what Carrie calls “a huge summer of crazy projects and big events.” Since then, Carrie has done just about everything at an event that there is to do, except captain a boat during an actual fire.

It’s most important to me that I can drop into almost any WaterFire-related activity and pull it off.  I’ve realized that what I really like is having a sense of the whole event, and I can’t get that when I do one thing all the time.

When asked what she enjoys doing most during a WaterFire Event Carrie had trouble choosing just one task.

I find working on the boats relatively peaceful.  It’s way more terrifying than it looks, of course — not just the fire itself, which is a constant physical threat, but just the fact of being “onstage” and having everyone stare at you — but at least being on a wood boat involves occasional rest, and it’s a calm, repetitive, zen-like activity.  On shore, there’s less rest, but it’s such great fun talking to people in the crowd.  I love my adopted city and I love helping other people love it even more.  It’s not just WaterFire we talk about; it’s local history, it’s food and drink, it’s the urban experience and the place of the arts in it.

When Carrie isn’t leading torch bearing ceremonies or helping construct rain covers to keep the braziers dry at WaterFire, she is a freelance prop artisan and scenic artist — meaning, she builds everything from curtains to severed heads and beautiful sceneries. Over the years, Carrie has acquired a lot of great skills and personal interests that have come in very handy at WaterFire, especially her love for “wacky projects.”

A couple of years ago, Barnaby called on me to help make giant, breakable dragon eggs.  There was a Chinese dragon coming down the river, and they had all these little paper dragons he wanted to hand out to the crowd, and it only made sense that they would come from giant, breakable dragon eggs.  I only had a week to do it…but with the help of some other volunteer friends we managed to get it done.

Then there was the monkey drop.  Barnaby had this idea that he was going to surprise everyone by dropping stuffed monkeys on the dance floor at the Ballroom on a night when Bananagrams was a sponsor… Everything that possibly could have gone wrong that day went wrong. However, apparently it was perfect from the ground.  And people went insane.  It was a sublime moment, and that was the whole point.

Carrie Capizzano means more to WaterFire than probably even she realizes. Routinely staying through strike– her ambition, drive, and passion for WaterFire shines through her brightly, especially when she speaks about the rest of the WaterFire Team.

I’d tell them thank you. I’d say thanks for being the people I want to laugh with over lighter fluid at eight in the morning, the people who’ve taught me so much about their diverse lives and made me a part of a community, not just a person existing somewhere. I’d also say thank you to the amazing WaterFire staff, who are truly unsung heroes in all this.

If you’re looking for a way to make a difference in the community, for a way to get out more, or are just plain stuck and don’t know where your life is going, in Carrie’s words: “join us. We need you. It’s hard to quantify or explain. But volunteering for WaterFire can make a person feel awake and alive in the world like very few things can.”

If you would like to join Carrie and start your own WaterFire experience, please contact the WaterFire Volunteer Department at 401.273.9727 or email us at volunteer@waterfire.org

Unfortunately, since it was last dredged in 1998, siltation from upstream sources has gradually and continuously filled areas of the river along Waterplace Park. As years have gone by without regular dredging, the navigable water levels in the park have significantly dropped giving us an ever narrowing window of possible dates on which to light WaterFire. In 2013, the river will be deep enough on only 5 of the 26 Saturday nights within our normal season from May through November. Unfortunately, 2014 and 2015 aren’t looking any better.

This is just part of the complexity of planning an event that is dependent on so many human and natural variables with a large percentage out of our control. We always attempt to schedule WaterFire on good tide dates when we can, but sponsors often have a specific event for which they are commissioning WaterFire and many times cannot move their date. In addition to sponsor schedules, we receive requests to produce WaterFire in conjunction with other specific events in Providence. This year we will be working with more than 15 organizations to schedule lightings that coordinate with their activities. The depth and breadth of the planning challenges that we face this year has resulted in the delayed release of the 2013 WaterFire event schedule. We normally like to have all of these logistical details worked out by April so we can release our event schedule well in advance the first lighting date.

However, sometimes Mother Nature just refuses to work nicely with all of these other facts and that’s when we have to call in the Army!

Well actually we call the Army Corp of Engineers who are the operators of the Fox Point Hurricane Barrier which can maintain the water in the rivers at a constant navigable level. Over the years, we have successfully worked with the City of Providence, State of Rhode Island and the Army Corps of Engineers to effectively manage water levels by opening and closing the hurricane barrier. Utilizing the hurricane barrier in 2013 became even more important as 11 out of the 16 potential lighting dates have uncooperative tides.

While navigating the tides can be tricky enough, we were recently presented an additional challenge with the possibility of sequestration having a negative impact on the budget of the Army Corps of Engineers’ and their ability to pay overtime to staff to close the hurricane barrier in non-emergency situations.

The good news is that a strong, dedicated team lead by the entire Rhode Island Congressional delegation (Senator Jack Reed, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, Congressman James Langevin and Congressman David Cicilline) is working hard at resolving the problem. We are optimistic and are proceeding with planning to present a complete WaterFire season of at least 14 full lightings in 2013.

Thursday, May 16th 2013
The Jane Pickens Theater
49 Touro Street
Newport, RI 02840

Purchase Tickets for this event.

WaterFire has captured the imagination of more than 15 million, gaining national and international attention. This documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of WaterFire Providence, one of the world’s most extraordinary events, with its sparkling bonfires and enchanting music, all in brilliant high-definition. See spectacular video from WaterFire in Rome, Singapore and other U.S. cities.

How did it start? Who are the people who make it happen? It is all covered in this extraordinary film along with the rich history of this popular 18 year-old spectacle. Find out what inspires the artist, Barnaby Evans, who talks about his initial vision for WaterFire, where it has been and where it is headed.

Joe Rocco and Barnaby Evans will be on hand to discuss the making of this documentary and take questions from attendees.  See reviews at RocJo.com

Join WaterFire for an Earth Day Cleanup!

Saturday, April 20th 11AM – 2PM
WaterPlace Park
Sign-up here.

In years past, hundreds of volunteers have come together to help improve the appearance of Waterplace Park in preparation for the upcoming WaterFire season. Last year alone, we filled two whole dumpsters with chairs, bottles, tires, shopping carts, and other debris – something we could have NEVER done without the helping hands of our amazing volunteers.

Efforts will be focused in two different areas: on-shore and on the river.

The on-shore crew will concentrate on cleaning up Waterplace Park, a valued and treasured public space that is the center of WaterFire events. Volunteers will cover the entire length of the park; from Waterplace Basin all the way down to South Water Street, picking up trash and clearing the walkways and parkland.

On the river crew will be on the WaterFire boats helping clear the river of debris that has been gathering since last summer.

All trash will be recycled or processed in an eco-friendly manner!

On the day of the event, we will meet on the riverbank next to Citizen’s bank Plaza parking lot. Please come prepared to get dirty and don’t forget to bring sunscreen, work gloves, and any extra rakes you may have lying around. We will provide you with snacks and water as a small thank you for your efforts.

Come out and help support the Providence community by making it a cleaner and more beautiful place!

Sign up for the 2013 WaterFire Providence Earth Day Clean Up.

The WaterFire Internship Program gives students the opportunity for hands on involvement right at the heart of Rhode Island’s popular event. A truly unique experience, WaterFire interns are very much seen as critical team members in the creation and execution of WaterFire. The busy nature of the WaterFire season, along with the essential tasks that must be completed in the creation of each event, allow for interns to play an incredibly important role in the success of WaterFire.

Claire Schlessinger (in the center wearing a t-shirt) prepares to lead a special ops team at a 2012 WaterFire lighting.

Claire Schlessinger, a soon to be graduate of Brown University and 2012 Intern agreed, “I really had a lot of ownership over my work and felt like what I did as an intern really mattered. It was very gratifying at the end of each event to see how my work really had an impact on the success of the event.”

While WaterFire is a relatively small nonprofit, the scale of its production is vast and requires many different departments and skill sets. Each branch plays a critical role in the creation of WaterFire, as do every department’s interns. Although interns are often placed in positions which enhance their existing skill set, they are also pushed to learn various new abilities.

It could also be said, WaterFire Interns quickly learn that their role is not the typical ‘paper- pushing’ internship some can be. As Gary St. Laurent, soon to be Johnson and Wales’ University grad and 2011 Intern put it while interning with the Department of Operations, “Every day I learned something new, both in office and at the event. At the end of the day, I was really made to feel like I was part of the WaterFire team, helping to make it all possible.”

Elvis Custodio, Peter Mello, Sake Chan and Gary St. Laurent

WaterFire is very much a team environment where staff and interns work closely together to make each and every event better than the last. While still reporting to and learning from their supervisors, Interns are highly encouraged to voice their opinions and utilize their creativity in projects.

In short, WaterFire Interns often come away with more experience and a larger skill set that they are able to bring back to the classroom and into their work than they had originally expected. Regardless of the internship, students should expect to learn about elements of event planning, public relations, design, staffing management, and so much more. The opportunity to learn and grow as an individual is endless with WaterFire, so long as you remain open and willing to new experiences.

If you would like to learn more about existing WaterFire internships for 2013, please visit the internship page of our website.

Currently available summer internships include: Special Events and Operations, Nonprofit Management, Event Staffing and Volunteer Management, Social Media and Audience Engagement, Marketing and Development, Photography, and Arts and Research.

All Interns should apply with a resume and cover letter.

Seven years ago, Sheryl Mason was working at Fidelity Investments in Texas when she came across an email about Fidelity’s sponsorship of WaterFire.

“It looked incredible but, of course, was too far away for me to attend.”

To her disbelief, just a few months later, Sheryl was asked to transfer to the Fidelity Investment office in Smithfield, Rhode Island.

“I gladly accepted the opportunity to transfer that April and I started volunteering with WaterFire that summer.” Sheryl has been a dedicated volunteer with WaterFire since – so much so that last season she attended every single WaterFire event.

“My favorite is volunteering at the Brazier Society Reception tent greeting the sponsors, guests, and donors. It is something I’ve been doing exclusively for the past four seasons. The guests pre-register for the event and I help with checking them in. We also provide information and answer questions about WaterFire. On a given night, I may answer questions from someone who lives in Rhode Island, Texas, or even Italy. I love talking with people; so, this is a great spot for me.”

Although Sheryl enjoys greeting guests at the Brazier Society tent, one of her most memorable WaterFire moments occurred during a Fidelity sponsored WaterFire when she was giving out Fidelity Cranes and she came across a family from New Hampshire that had just happened to travel to Providence that night, yet had no idea what WaterFire was.

Fidelity's Origami Crane

“They were completely blown away by the beauty of the event and it was great to be able to explain the spectacle occurring right before their eyes. I told them about the history of WaterFire and even invited them back for future events. They were astounded by the artistry and the quiet milling of the people. They could not wait to return. It is so neat to engage in conversations with people who live so close to Rhode Island, yet have never heard of WaterFire.”