It’s Beginning to Look A Lot Like (A WaterFire) Christmas!

Preparations are underway at the WaterFire Creative Arts Center for this weekend’s two-day WaterFire Christmas event. One of the great highlights of this spectacular family event will be the magical Festival of Trees. For the second year in a row, we were fortunate to be able to partner with local schools and have their students make the ornaments that will be decorating many of the trees.

We like to send a special thanks to this year’s participating schools: Aldrich Junior High, Alvarez High, Carl G. Lauro Elementary, Charles N. Fortes Elementary, Alan Shawn Feinstein Elementary at Broad Street, Lillian Feinstein Elementary at Sackett Street, Flora S. Curtis Elementary, Glen Hills Elementary, Harold H. Birch Vocational School at Mount Pleasant, Cottrell F. Hoxie Elementary, John Brown Francis Elementary, Jacqueline M. Walsh School for the Performing and Visual Arts, Lincoln High, Norwood Elementary, Oakland Beach Elementary, Pell Elementary, Pilgrim High, Portsmouth High, Reservoir Avenue Elementary, Rhode Island Art Education Association, Warren A. Sherman Elementary, Stephen Olney Elementary, Toll Gate High, Warwick Neck Elementary, Webster Avenue Elementary, West Warwick High, Winman Junior High, and Young & Woods Elementary.

We’d also like to thank all of our generous Festival of Trees tree sponsors. With their support, Waterplace Park will be positively overflowing with the Christmas spirit. This year’s sponsors include The Providence Biltmore, Vitalo & Gagnon, Providence Investment Management, Lifetime Medical, RBC Wealth Management, InsureMyTrip.com, Nursing Placement, P.F. Chang’s in Providence Place, Image Printing, Rhode Island Broadcasters Association, the DePetrillo Family dedicating a tree in Memory of Captain Nick DePetrillo, and Ocean State Sandwich Company. The Festival of Trees will also feature The Freedom Tree dedicated in memory of Nelson Mandela.

Make sure to attend our WaterFire Christmas lightings this weekend, December 13 & 14 to see the Festival of Trees and all of the great Christmas ornaments.

Get a sneak peek of the Festival of Trees preparation and some of the great Christmas ornaments crafted by local students:

About the author

Tim Blankenship

Director of Special Projects at WaterFire | + posts by author

Tim Blankenship, newly appointed Director of Special Projects, is a 22-year veteran of WaterFire and a steadfast advocate for the organization’s mission to unite the community through shared artistic experiences. Having worked across multiple departments, including a decade in production and recent years with the creative services team, Tim brings unmatched institutional knowledge to his new role. He will focus on strengthening internal systems and supporting the creation of new visitor experiences at both the downtown installation and the WaterFire Arts Center.