What could be more moving, more awe-inspiring, than a bunch of campfires in the middle of the river?  Nothing, absolutely nothing.  

Waterfire, an "art installation" by Barnaby Evans ('75), has been called "the most popular work of art created in the capital city's 371-year history," according to a 1997 article in The Providence Journal.

One tipster says:

I interviewed Barnaby Evans for a school project.  He made me watch a video where a local restaurant owner cliams that Waterfire speaks to man's most primal needs.  He said, "I mean, there's water, which we needed to drink when we were thirsty.  And there's fire, which we needed to cook.  It's like... it's like we have a Waterfire gene!"   Barnaby Evans also claimed that Waterfire was a universally accessible work of art and a unifying force in the city.

If you consider a bunch of upper-middle class, white yuppies coming down to Providence to buy kettle corn and clutch their purses tighter when people of color walk by, then by golly, Waterfire is a unifying force in the city!  

At any rate, kudos to Barnaby for bringing back the burning river.  It's been a while since the Cuyahoga River in Ohio caught fire for being overpolluted.