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WEATHER UPDATE: There looks to be some clouds in the forecast with chance of showers, but the show must go on! Bring your umbrella just in case and join us down by the river for another great event!
The fires will be lit shortly after sunset (6:32 p.m.) and remain lit until MIDNIGHT.
Tonight’s Fire Sponsors are: Girl Scouts of Rhode Island, Inc. and Webster Bank
It’s been 100 years since Juliette Low assembled 18 girls from Savannah, Georgia for the first ever Girl Scout meeting. Today, Girl Scouts of the USA is the country’s premier leadership organization for girls, with a membership of over 3.2 million girls and adults! In fact, more than 59 million women in the U.S. today are Girl Scout alumnae. Locally, at Girl Scouts of Rhode Island, Inc., more than 9,400 girls from Rhode Island and nearby MA and CT are on their way to becoming girls of courage, confidence and character who make the world a better place! Learn more at www.gsri.org.
At Webster Bank, we give of ourselves in the communities we serve. This commitment is both a core value that helps define who we are and a tradition since we were founded in 1935. Our Corporate Giving Program helps to strengthen our communities through donations and sponsorships of almost $4 million dollars annually to more than 1,000 organizations. In addition, Webster supports organizations and our employees in activities that result in more than 70,000 volunteer hours each year.
Join WaterFire in welcoming the Family Care Community Partnership as the carnation sponsor of the evening. Over 2,000 carnations will be handed out throughout the installation by FCCP volunteers and on the river by WaterFire’s favorite mime Michael Grando, carrying the message of hope – “Take time to be a family”. FCCP works with families to help prevent abuse and neglect and provide home and community based services using a wraparound approach to help to empower families to address their individual needs. The program is funded by DCYF and focuses on family voice and choice. Stop by their tent in Memorial Park to receive fabulous gifts and learn more about the organization and all the great programs they offer.
WaterFire’s Evening Events:
Celebrating 100 Years of Girl Scouting! Be sure to check out the many Girl Scout highlights throughout the evening. 
5:00pm – 10:00pm – Join the Girl Scouts on Steeple Street Celebrating the Past, Present and Future of the Organization
- Be sure to stop by and interact with Girl Scouts old and young. Don’t forget to get your cookies!
5:00pm – 11:30pm
- The WaterFire Store at Canal Street buy a hoodie, t-shirt, poster or local artist designed WaterFire pendant and support a great cause
6:00pm – 9:00pm – Explore WaterFire Clue by Clue
- Check out any of the AT&T ‘hot spots’ throughout the park to help you jump start the WaterFire AT&T Scavenger Hunt. Make sure your prepared and ready for the QR QUEST by downloading a QR code reader to your smartphone! The AT&T Code Scanner app is available through both the Apple App Store, Blackberry App World and the Android Market. Scavenger Hunt winners will be entered to win a tablet from AT&T!
Sunset (6:32pm) – 11:00pm
- Donate today by lighting a Luminaria
- Make it a Starry, Starry Night by wishing upon a star and become a part of the installation in Memorial Park
- Special tonight! Show your support and be a part of the installation by donating and receiving a Ribbon of Light! There will be pink ribbons of light scattered among the station, winners will receive a $5 gift card for Dunkin Donuts. There will be one (1) special red ribbon of light which will give you and three (3) friends a VIP boat ride through the installation.
6:40pm – Bridging Ceremony Crossing the Bridge of Stars in Waterplace Basin
- The Girl Scouts of Rhode Island will kick off the evening just after sunset with an inspiring “bridging ceremony” in Waterplace Park where 100 girls will cross the Bridge of Stars in the basin symbolizing their growth within the organization and in their own lives.
6:52pm – Midnight
- 80 Bonfires on the River accompanied by WaterFire Music
7:00pm – 100 Torch Salute in Waterplace Basin
- Immediately following the lighting of WaterFire, witness 100 Girl Scouts leaders, alumnae, volunteers and girls, representing yesterday, today and the future as WaterFire and the GSRI present a very special ring of fire and pay tribute to the lives that have been affected by Girl Scouting!
8:00pm – Vessel of Fire by Andy Moerlein and Donna Dodson
- Myth Makers Andy Moerlein and Donna Dodson will build a sculpture of a sailing ship in Providence Rhode Island at the Confluence of the Steeple Street Bridge. At 8p, we will set alight the vessel of fire whose shape is carried by the wind. The flames of the boat will lap like water while the sails will flap in the flames.
8:00pm – 10:00pm – Catch WaterFire Performers along the River
- Spogga, the fire dancer, skillfully dances amidst the sparks spinning fire along the river
- World War Memorial: Be mesmerized by the Gargoyles and the Oracles from Ten31 Productions
- Stop by to see Andrew Anselmo, The Origami Guy making paper come alive in Market Square
- Catch Mime Artist Michael Grando portraying Pierrot (Pedrolino) from the Commedia del’arte, in his naive and everlasting quest to win the heart of a beautiful girl; he will be on the river tossing visitors complimentary carnations to the crowd
- Stop by Union Plaza to see the internationally acclaimed, award winning music and dance group, Inca Son. All dressed as their Inca forebearers performing enchanting melodies on their Andean pan-flutes
8:30pm – Luminaria Procession from Steeple St. to Memorial Park
- 100 Girl Scouts will lead a luminaria procession to Memorial Park where their luminaria and dedications of hope, inspiration and dreams for the future will be placed around the signature Girl Scouts Trefoil and burn all night long. Join the Girl Scouts of RI as they light the way for future generations.
Other Events Throughout the City:
- FirstWorks Festival: On the Plaza in 2012
Wonders await. Get there first. Take to the streets with the FirstWorks Festival: On the Plaza in 2012. Flip out watching Bandaloop‘s spectacular vertical performance held 30 stories in the air. Be inspired by a creative smorgasbord of over 200 performers. Feel the heat of a full WaterFire. Discover a world of culture – right this way for a festival of music, dance and performance. Saturday, September 29th in Providence’s Greater Kennedy Plaza from 4:00 – 11:00pm. Get the schedule at www.first-works.org. FREE. - RiverWalk: Before the Fires are Lit! Discover the winding history and continued importance of Providence’s rivers! Urban outdoor sculpture and beautiful civic and commercial buildings of varied architectural styles provide the setting for stories of Providence’s fabled past and dynamic present. Tours last 60 min. and depart at 5:30 p.m. from the John Brown House Museum on 52 Power Street in Providence. Tickets are $10 per person and may be purchased at the John Brown House Museum on the day of the tour. Reservations requested for this tour.
