Water+Fire+Crowds

[Bridge at WaterFire Place; 7/16/11]

WaterFire in Providence has become a very popular urban art installation and event. Which means that it's also utterly mobbed. I am spoiled for having seen my first WaterFire ten years ago on a slow evening, the event almost canceled by rain which let up just before. My friend and I wandered along the canals astonished. It was almost spooky - the odd piped-in music echoing over the water and off the canal walls, the candle-lit candelabras under the bridges throwing shadows from another century, a gondola ferrying people beside the burning braziers strung like jewels down the center of the canal. The elemental power of the water, fire, and music was magical and seemed to hush all the people there.

I went to a few other WaterFire events over the years when I lived at my condo, which was a little over a half-hour drive away. The crowds increased, although side events were added to siphon off some of the people to stages nearby. I could also stay late sometimes and wait out the crowds.

I hadn't been to a WaterFire event in 5 years, and D had never been, so we drove down from Boston on Saturday evening. Our first stop was Federal Hill, Providence's Italian neighborhood. We lucked into good parking and then into a great table outside in DePasquale Square. The cafes and the fountain seats were full of people and it turned out many were there on the warm summer evening to hear a pair of singers who soon arrived to sing oldies mixed with a few Italian-American classics to the crowd. It was fun. Our food was delicious - we both had garlicky rainbow trout with perfectly roasted potatoes and crisp-tender broccoli. Yum.

[DePasquale Square, Providence; 7/16/11]

After dinner, we headed over to WaterFire, which as I said was packed with people, who were quite noisy but seemed to be having a good time. I led D slowly through the crowds to see the highlights, and I think he enjoyed seeing it. It was Chinese culture night and the highlight for me came when a beautiful Chinese singer appeared to float atop the water like an apparition, her haunting song reverberating over the water and off the stone walls of the canal. (There was also this Renoir moment found later on my camera!)

[Chinese singer at WaterFire]

Comments

[marja-leena]

Love your photos, Leslee, and your descriptions of what sounds like a very popular event. The lights. especially those star shaped ones, the music over the water and that Renoir moment seem magical. (I'm not fond of crowds either.)

[Leslee]

Thanks, Marja-Leena. There is still something magical about it. Fortunately, my back was doing pretty well that night (crowds have been making me particularly nervous right now as I'm leery of being jostled and having my back thrown out).

[Relatively Retiring]

That looks quite magical.
How good when crowds can behave and not get over-excited.

[Sky]

wow - never heard of this. it sounds magical. wish we had something similar. loved your photos!

[Mouse]

we still appear to be linked by a thread of coincidences!

I spent Sunday morning watching a programme about the impressionist painters and one part was devoted to Renoir's cafe scenes.

Love that picture, so full of colour and beauty!

[Leslee]

RR: Yes, it is pretty magical, and people are remarkably well behaved.

Sky: Thanks! I understand that the conceptual artist who created WaterFire in Providence has installed a couple of others elsewhere in the country.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WaterFire

Mouse: Thank you! The "Renoir" seemed to create itself with the auto-format button on my photo editing software. Or it was the ghost of Renoir!