Designed by award-winning artist Barnaby Evans, WaterFire Kansas City is a unique, multi-sensory experience of music, fire and water. Now in its third year, the moving art installation features more than 55 floating bonfires on Brush Creek. This year's festivities will take place Saturday, October 24.

WaterFire was originally created by Barnaby Evans in 1994 on the three rivers of downtown Providence, Rhode Island. The living fire sculpture has become a signature event for the city, attracting more than 10 million visitors and drawing praise as a moving symbol of Providence’s renaissance.

The event begins with a series of boats that travel along Brush Creek through the darkness. They make their way with torches a flame in an enchanting display to ignite the braziers and bring all 55 pieces to life. Throughout the evening, boats return to the braziers, constantly feeding them with new wood and keeping the sculpture in its original form for the duration of the evening.

This powerful visual is reinforced by the fragrant scent of aromatic wood smoke, the flickering firelight on the anchored bridges, the silhouettes of the fire-tenders passing by the flames, the torch-lit vessels traveling down the creek, and the enchanting music. Food will be available for purchase from four Plaza restaurants.  

Planning Information

Date: Saturday, October 24

Time: Dusk to midnight

Location: Brush Creek on the Country Club Plaza

Music & Dance:  The fires will be set to music. Local performing arts companies including Vesuvius fire dancers and Quixotic Performance Fusion will perform. Check back closer to the event for a detailed performance schedule.

Food Booths:  Four Plaza restaurants will set up food booths along the WaterFire route: Brio Tuscan Grill, The Capital Grille, Houston's and Plaza III Steakhouse.

Rain Date:  If there is a forecast for rain on Saturday, October 24, the rain date of Saturday, November 7, will go into effect.

Volunteers:  To donate your time and talents to WaterFire, contact Gil Brenis at 816-421-2341 (ext. 103) or gbrenis@evenergy.com.  

WaterFire Map