(9.4) It’s back! And Saturday’s WaterFire will be honoring the very people who got us through the past eighteen months and who continue to serve the public under unbelievably stressful circumstances: Essential Workers.
The 2021 Covid Heroes lighting will begin with a 100 person Ring of Fire torch lighting ceremony in Waterplace Park. Torchbearers will include first-responders and other essential work from around Rhode Island whose dedication and bravery have kept us going throughout the pandemic.
Needless to say, this image was taken in the before-times and we may not want to pack together like sardines just yet. WaterFire organizers have made adjustments: “At this time onshore activities will be mostly curtailed in order to ensure public safety.”
When we think of the Covid heroes we always picture the front line medical workers — and they continue to work themselves to emotional and physical exhaustion — but let’s not forget those who have been working the counters and cash registers at our markets and drug stores, facing hundreds of strangers a day, before going home to their families. They were not sent home to collect unemployment. They had to work. They all deserve a raise.
Go here for the complete 2021 WaterFire schedule.
All Full WaterFire lightings light up over eighty braziers from Waterplace Park to Memorial/South Main Street Park on scheduled evenings throughout the season.
(Photo by Jen Bonin)
Sunset, 7:14pm to midnight, Saturday, September 4, Waterplace Park (directions)