WaterFire Providence Opens Torchbearer Program for 500th Lighting Milestone

WaterFire Providence will celebrate its 500th lighting this summer, and organizers want to turn the milestone occasion into a community-inclusive experience.

WaterFire is inviting 500 community members to serve as official torchbearers this season. Participants will help ignite the fires that define the experience that first debuted in Providence in 1994 as an experimental art installation. Each procession will include up to 50 people.

“It is amazing to realize we have presented WaterFire 500 times,” said Barnaby Evans, executive artistic director of WaterFire Providence, in a statement shared with Hey Rhody. “All of us are tremendously pleased that WaterFire has celebrated our community with 500 gatherings, honoring our heroes, observing important milestones, and bringing people and families together along Providence's rivers.”

Torchbearers must be 18 or older and contribute a $125 donation to support WaterFire's ongoing programming. Each participant will also receive a commemorative photo to mark the occasion. 

The milestone 500th lighting will take place on Saturday, May 30. Additional torch processions are scheduled throughout the season, from summer lightings in the basin at Waterplace Park to full fall displays. 

Interested individuals can visit the WaterFire Providence website for more details.