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WaterFire’s 9th Annual Salute to Veterans
Photo: Laura Paton, Waterfire website
There will be a Full Lighting at WaterFire on Saturday, November 6th as a salute to Veterans. The lighting will start at Sunset, set for 5:34 p.m., ending at 10:00 p.m.
Opening Ceremonies will begin at 5:50 PM
There will be a Veterans Resource Fair on Washington Street and the Washington Street Bridge from 4:30 – 9:00 p.m. The Providence VA Medical Center will be on-hand to connect with Veterans with health care and health insurance options available through the VA as well as providing onsite crisis services through their Mobile Vet Center. Additionally, Fidelity Investments, General Dynamics Electric Boat, and Stanley Tree Service, Inc. will be conducting a mini job fair aimed at recruiting veterans
Opening Ceremonies
A 100 torch salute and performance by Rhode Island Professional Firefighters Pipes and Drums will take place. The torch procession will be led by Color Guards from the Rhode Island Civil Air Patrol and the Providence College ROTC Patriot Battalion. The fires will remain lit until 10:00 p.m.
Veteran Torchbearers at the 2019 WaterFire Salute to Veterans event in Providence, Rhode Island. Photograph by Erin Cuddigan.
Veterans Resource Fair on Washington Street
The Providence VA Medical Center will be on-hand to connect with Veterans with health care and health insurance options available through the VA as well as providing onsite crisis services through their Mobile Vet Center. Additionally, Fidelity Investments, General Dynamics Electric Boat, and Stanley Tree Service, Inc. will be conducting a mini job fair aimed at recruiting veterans.
WaterFire Accelerate Artist Ysanel Torres will be creating a mural live, throughout the evening, inside Fidelity Investments’ pop-up tent on the Washington Street Bridge.
Sunset – 9:00 pm Memorial Tributes and Dedications in Memorial Park.
The Memorials and Monuments in Memorial Park (between College and Dyer Streets) will be lit in honor of all Veterans. Wreaths will be placed at the Great War (WWI), WWII, Korean War, and Rhode Island Nine Beirut Memorials. Starting at approximately 7:30 p.m. buglers will play taps and a wreath will be laid at each memorial with a short torch lighting ceremony.
At the Confluence, on Steeple Street where the rivers meet, there will be a Missing Man Table set up to honor the memory of fallen, missing or imprisoned military service members. Every piece of this touching memorial has a special meaning, and we invite you to join us in taking a moment to think about our soldiers that are no longer with us or are missing.
Read more about the Memorial Tributes and Dedications in Memorial Park.
A display of military vehicles will be available for photo-ops on the College Street Bridge from 4:30 – 9:30 p.m. Lighting for the memorials, military vehicles, and the large American flag flown over Waterplace Park has been provided by High Output, Inc.
Enjoy local food from festival favorites like Saugy’s, Sweet Smokin Pits, and Kettle Korn Express on Washington Street and College Street from 5:00 PM – 10:00 PM.
See A Silent Soapbox on the corner of the Washington Street Bridge as they debut a new character. Crowd favorite Andrew Anselmo, Origami Master will be delighting audiences young and old in Market Square.
The Rhode Island Department of Health will have a pop-up vaccination and info tent on Canal Street from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. Visitors can get free vaccine shots, learn about COVID-19 testing and prevention. Volunteers from Fidelity Investments will be on-site handing out face masks and answering questions. Alert Ambulance will also be on hand doing COVID-19 testing. Tests are free and results will be available on the spot.
WaterFire Providence, in close cooperation with the Rhode Island Department of Health, requests all visitors, both vaccinated and unvaccinated, wear masks while attending the WaterFire event. Please remain aware of your surroundings and keep a safe distance from anyone outside your family/pod. If you are feeling unwell, please stay home and get tested as soon as possible. Visit the RIDOH website for additional COVID-19 testing and vaccine information (https://covid.ri.gov).
Learn more about the history of the WaterFire Salute to Veterans.
The 9th Annual WaterFire Salute to Veterans is made possible through the support of Pannone Lopes Devereaux & O’Gara, Providence VA Medical Center, Starwood Energy Group, Stanley Tree Service, Inc, Fidelity Investments, Chisholm Chisholm & Kilpatrick LTD., Citizens Bank, National Grid, General Dynamics Electric Boat, and Rhode Island Professional Firefighters Pipes and Drums.