Waterfire is amazing. It brings thousands into downtown every time they have an event. The bonfires and music are great, and a real attraction. I could just sit on the side of the river and loose myself in the music and the mesmerizing flames all night, and have done that on occasion. The problem with that is that I would miss all the other things happening all around downtown. A stroll through the Luminaria garden, walking past the statues in the park and suddenly realizing that the gargoyle just reached out and put those long fingers over someone's head, watching the kids interact with the guy on the street making origami, then again there's all that food from the street vendors and those wonderful restaurants that are downtown, or maybe, just maybe, taking a romantic ride on one of the gondola's that ghost along the rivers during each Waterfire. You can't get any more romantic than that. Yes I am a fan of Waterfire and yes Waterfire has definitely brought a vibrancy to downtown Providence like no other activity could.

It's almost unheard of for a nonprofit arts organization to be so successful that the city almost cannot handle the throngs of people that come from all over to take part in it -- let alone every two weeks. It's so successful that the locals are either ardent fans or completely refuse to go anywhere near downtown on a WaterFire night. Even if they somehow find a parking spot, see, local businesses are so thronged with firegoers that they'd be lucky to find a table anywhere. That's like having a guaranteed Valentine's Day or New Year's Eve crowd every two weeks. Good for business? You can't argue with that one.

Looks very amazing. Would be a great art installation for other cities as well. And I can imagine that it creates an economy around it.
Great inspiration, and great project!

Providence's WaterFire is an experience in sharing elegance, refinement and mutual admiration in our Beautiful Capitol City.