Visiting Waterfire tomorrow night, 8/16, help!

My husband and I decided spur of the moment to head to waterfire tomorrow night. We%26#39;re vacationing in MA and have always wanted to see it so we%26#39;re really excited. We also have always wanted to try Al Forno so we%26#39;re hoping to make that part of the evening%26#39;s agenda.

A couple questions--it seems like the Providence Place mall is place the park (maybe easiest and not too expensive?). What time should we get there? We were thinking we%26#39;d aim to arrive around 6pm and eat first, then wander over to waterfire. Is this a good plan? Will we even be able to get in to Al Forno or is this a pipe dream?

We can go earlier, if that would be helpful, but we just don%26#39;t know what to expect as far as wait times or when to get to waterfire. It seems like waterfire is more of a loose event, so you can come and go, rather than something structured. Is that right? Any thoughts or suggestions are greatly appreciated! Thanks.

Visiting Waterfire tomorrow night, 8/16, help!

My husband and I are going tomorrow night too...first time also..made reservations in advance for a restaurant. Call Al Forno before you go to see if they have any availability. Waterfire begins at dusk. We are staying at the Courtyard Marriott so not sure about the parking..Have fun!!!

Visiting Waterfire tomorrow night, 8/16, help!

At 5:30 there is a walking tour from the John Brown House, corner of Benefit and Power, that walks from the house to the river and explains the Waterfire story. You could park on street near JBH. At 7:00 there will be a dance lesson at Sovereign Plaza Ballroom, that is followed by a band and dancing. There are numerous ';entertainers'; during waterfire as well as food vendors along the walking route. Fires tonight will be lit just before 8:00.

waterfire is a nice outdoor time...sometimes its nice to simply buy soemthing from a street vendor.

or there%26#39;s my way.....park on thayer street near brown. no problem parking and its free. you can eat outside at paragon or andreas. all are good .. not fancy.but good food

then walk down angell street , down the hill, to waterfire...its a nice walk.about 10 minutes.

i like the south main street part of waterfire. near hemingays...nice to walk over to ruths chris steakhouse and have a glass of wine. its very nice spot and you can see the waterfire from the lounge. its okay to be casual there on a waterfire night.

thats how i do waterfire!!!!!

Great! Good suggestions, all. I know there%26#39;s some construction around there and I don%26#39;t know Providence very well so I%26#39;m a little worried about getting lost or turned around (I know how to get to the mall which is why I thought that would be good for parking). But we have GPS so maybe I%26#39;ll just wing it.

I think we%26#39;re going to try to get there super early and eat first but we%26#39;ll see. Any other thoughts are appreciated as well!