Waterfire Providence: Accessibility Update

Waterfire Providence, an award winning sculpture that is installed on the rivers of downtown Providence, has been a very popular event that has been drawing huge crowds for many years. Unfortunately, people with disabilities have always had a difficult time in enjoying the full effect of Waterfire due to the large crowds that gather along the rivers and the cobblestone surfaces on the river walks.

Barnaby Evans, the creative force behind Waterfire has been committed to making his event accessible to everyone and has been working with the PARI Independent Living Center and other representatives of the disability community (OSCIL and the Fogarty Center) to improve accessibility. As a result of these efforts, some exciting changes have occurred that should help address some of the access issues.

At every Waterfire from this point forward an accessible riverboat will be available to take people with disabilities onto the river itself to get an up close view of the fires without having to fight the crowds and the cobblestones, free of charge. The boat is available one half hour before the lighting of the fires and approximately every half hour for the rest of the evening while the fires are burning. This boat has space for up to two power wheelchairs or three to four manual wheelchairs per trip. There are two tiedown systems in place for those that request them. There are also deck chairs available for non-wheelchair users and companions of wheelchair users. The total capacity of the boat is approximately 10 people. The trip itself lasts approximately 30 minutes and goes from the Dyer Street dock up the river to the Waterplace Basin and then returns.

For more information about Waterfire and to see a schedule, visit the Waterfire Providence web site.

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