Fire + Water

One weekend in July, the boyfriend and his friends decided to head back to their alma mater for a 'grand reunion'. Some of the 'gang of 12' flew in from as far as Costa Rica and Hong Kong, while most of the others swooped in from the continental US, mostly from around the Northeast. And we all converged into the picturesque city of Providence, Rhode Island at an opportune time - the festival of luminaria lanterns was on - called the Waterfire Festival.

It had threatened to be a stormy weekend and thus not too many outdoor pictures came out too well. The sky was constantly overcast and eventually, late on Saturday evening, we had torrential rainfall that continued through the next day which made the drive back to the city quite adventurous.

While the 'gang of 12' regressed back to their old juvenile-personalities, the 'girlfriends club' spent the evening touring the romantic waterfire festival on our own. Well, we had to give the night to the boys - they have not had the chance for a get-together since they graduated almost 14 years ago.

The Waterfire Festival started in 1994 and is held annually along the banks of the three rivers that surround Providence, Rhode Island. These torches comprise the sculpture of the artist Barnaby Evans. It starts with a procession of the torches and then are set on pedestals that sit just above the water and the bonfires are kept lit until the early morning of the next day, just after midnight.