The mingling of flame, water, art and fellowship adds up to something special for WaterFire Sharon’s Treasurer Chip Mastrian. “It’s almost a religious experience,” Mastrian said. “It’s truly heartwarming.” At dusk, the enthusiasm is palpable and you can feel the buzz move through the crowd. The smiles and excited whispers make all the hard work worth it. Particularly after the effort of hundreds of folks behind the scenes, seeing people gather along the Shenango River with family and friends to gaze at the soothing fire and listen to music is quite moving.
“I had a tear in my eye … here we are, it’s working,” Mastrian said.
Mastrian, 68, of South Pymatuning Township, retired a few years ago as a partner at Black, Bashor & Porsch. Now, he’s using his mathematically-inclined mind to raise funds for WaterFire. “It’s not an easy task,” he said. A lot of people are intrigued and gung ho from the get go, but other’s don’t see the benefit and need convincing. As a young man, Mastrian lived all over the country and traveled a lot. But he was drawn home to the Shenango Valley for family and friends.
“You can’t replace that stuff.”
Over the years, he’s seen his hometown hit hard by an economic downturn and thought WaterFire could spark a renaissance. It seems he was right. While economics is Mastrian’s main area of interest, he said he also liked the concept of an arts-driven event for the area. Mercer County lacked that culture in general and WaterFire helps fill that void not only with the thrice-yearly festivals but the buzz it’s created. A number of new shops and businesses have opened downtown since last summer’s festivities and more are in the works. The impact of WaterFire and the tens of thousands of people visiting Sharon is “huge,” Mastrian said.
The WaterFire movement is affecting the entire region, he noted. Spectators and volunteers come from hours away.
“I think a lot of people were extremely surprised and astonished” at the number of people who attended the inaugural year and how far they traveled, Mastrian said. “People really didn’t think we could do it. But we were confident this could work and it’d have a lasting impact – and it will,” Mastrian said. “I think we have a tremendous group of people working together to get it done.”
In fact, Chip’s recruited his own family to share their talents. His wife Kathleen, an instructor at Penn State Shenango, led a drum circle and daughter Alicia, a graphic designer who lives in Philadelphia, created the WaterFire logo.
