WaterFire Providence

Barnaby Evans lit eleven braziers on the Providence River on New Year's Eve 1994 — a single night, a single idea. What he built since then now runs eighty-six burning braziers across the Woonasquatucket, Moshassuck, and Providence rivers, drawing an average of 40,000 people per lighting. The city calls it its renaissance. That's not marketing — Evans literally received an award by that name. Free, seasonal, and still run largely by volunteers, it remains the reason people come to Providence when they otherwise might not.