Generally fundraising dinners seem pre-scripted. It feels like half the people don’t want to be there and the other half are trying to sell you something.
This 2013 Shenango Valley Chamber event couldn’t have been more off-script. Not only did the chamber honor the truly deserving and humble George Kraynak (Kraynaks Hermitage, PA) as Person of the Year, but they invited Barnaby Evans, founder of WaterFire to be the keynote speaker.
Sure, the pictures (and subsequent videos) of this year’s WaterFire Sharon events that were shown during the evening were impressive (even to those who participated in WFS), but there was something profound about this night that transcended images and honorees.
Barnaby talked about the many ways in which art can reenergize communities, but there were two anecdotes that deeply impacted the audience.
The first was a story about a mistake made in Providence, RI concerning reservations. Coincidentally, one of their WaterFire dates fell on a Pakistani holiday that marks their independence from India. The Pakistani ex-pat population of Providence wanted to celebrate this and reserved a public space. Unfortunately, a separate reservation for the same space had been made by the Indian ex-pat population for the same thing (their separation from Pakistan). The person in charge of scheduling simply didn’t understand the difference between the two countries. Not only did WaterFire Providence de-fuse the situation, but they joined the two groups together in a wildly successful cultural celebration. The images that accompanied Barnaby’s story were inspirational and moving.
Secondly, he discussed the newest WaterFire installation in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Stari Most bridge, which had linked the Muslim and Christian populations on either side of the Neratva Gorge for over 400 years, had been destroyed in 1993 during the conflicts there. The recent rebuilding of this pedestrian bridge and its subsequent relinking of the communities will be celebrated with WaterFire.
Everybody in the room was impacted. We gave a standing ovation because, at this point, there was little doubt about the potential upside of WaterFire for our community. If India & Pakistan and Muslims & Christians can work together…
This was not just another Shenango Valley Chamber of Commerce Dinner.
WaterFire changes everything. Come, build a fire.
