Saturday WaterFire Rescheduled to Late October Ahead of Storm
Providence, RI · September 24, 2026
A light jacket should be your first grab this morning. The weekend’s incoming nor'easter is already shaking up the civic calendar, but today delivers quiet, dry hours to get across town.
The Lead
WaterFire organizers made the rare call Wednesday to cancel this Saturday’s full basin lighting, citing a slow-moving nor’easter projected to bring heavy rain and gale-force wind gusts to Narragansett Bay over the weekend. While calling off a lighting is an extraordinary step for the downtown tradition, river crews and safety officials determined that gusting northeast winds would make tending the mid-river braziers and navigating support boats hazardous for volunteers and spectators alike.
The lighting, originally organized to honor Rhode Island educators, will not disappear from the season roster. Riverfront coordinators have rescheduled the full installation—including the torchbearer procession, artisan market, and food trucks—for Saturday, October 24. For now, downtown crews will keep braziers docked and turn their attention to prepping the smaller partial lighting scheduled for October 3 at Memorial Park.
Local Pulse
High Wind Watch Posted Ahead of Nor'easter Weather Rhode Island Energy staged additional repair crews statewide Thursday morning as forecasters warned of weekend power disruptions.
Neighbors Press Brown Over Building Scale Community Fox Point residents voiced lingering concerns Tuesday over neighborhood density despite the university's pledge to preserve two historic homes.
Today's Outlook
- High 63°F · Low 48°F — Overcast
- Grab a medium jacket to stay warm beneath persistent gray skies all day.
What's On Around Town
Today
Rhode Island Fashion Week: Season XIX FarmFresh RI (10 Sims Ave), 5:00 PM · $25 Runway showcases highlighting emerging regional designers and student talent.
As American as Apple Pie: New England's Historic Food and Drink Nelson W. Aldrich House (110 Benevolent St), 6:00–7:00 PM Food historians discuss regional culinary roots alongside local cider and johnnycakes.
Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical Providence Performing Arts Center (220 Weybosset St), 7:30 PM · Paid Fast-paced West End comedy telling the secret true WWII intelligence caper.
Tomorrow
- Food Truck Friday Season Finale Carousel Village at Roger Williams Park (1000 Elmwood Ave), 5:00–8:30 PM · Free
- Salsa on the Bridge Michael S. Van Leesten Memorial Bridge, 5:00–9:00 PM · Free
- Operation Mincemeat: A New Musical Providence Performing Arts Center (220 Weybosset St), 7:30 PM · Paid
Saturday
- Worldwide Day of Play Museum at the John Brown House (52 Power St), 10:00 AM–4:00 PM · Free
- Rhode Island Fashion Week Finale FarmFresh RI (10 Sims Ave), 3:00 PM · $25
- Providence Bruins Preseason Game & Fanfest Amica Mutual Pavilion (1 LaSalle Sq), 7:05 PM · Paid
Spotlight & Story
- Tony's Colonial Food
- When Tony and Gina DiCicco took over this Atwells Avenue market in the late 1950s, Tony paid off the $25,000 price at $100 a week. Today, three generations still slice imported prosciutto and dish house-made caponata behind the glass deli cases.
Providence Daily Digest — compiled from local sources as of 6 AM. For breaking updates, follow your local newsrooms.
Sent with care by MailerDot — your city, every morning.