Corey Oberlander is the special events coordinator for WaterFire Providence, including the new WaterFire Arts Center located inside a transformed warehouse at 475 Valley St. in Providence.
Oberlander spoke with Providence Business News about the process of planning an event at the new center and what type of events WaterFire is looking to host.
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PBN: Tell us about the challenges of planning a major event in the new WaterFire headquarters – what keeps you up at night?
OBERLANDER: The WaterFire Arts Center already wears a lot of different hats, and we intend to use our brand-new facility to do anything and everything conceived – sometimes at the same time! While that’s exciting, it is always a cause for logistical concern. We’re constantly met with new questions and we do our best to provide the most informed answers. We’re breaking down unique ideas into logistical parts to make sure they all go smoothly and that we’re covering all of our bases. When somebody wants to put a silk aerialist dancing from the rafters, or wants to bring a live band in on a trailer during an event, we want to see these elements go off without a hitch (but they definitely keep us up at night).
PBN: What types of events is the new WaterFire Arts Center best suited for? Are there any major events on the horizon that you’re particularly excited about?
OBERLANDER: We have seen all types since we started doing events back at the end of March: fundraisers, classroom sessions, auctions, lectures, award ceremonies, cocktail parties, presentations, competitions, book signings, and they’re are all perfectly suited for our space. We also have weddings, bat mitzvahs, and art exhibitions in the pipeline and really look forward to how they interact with the historical elements of the building. The structural format of the Arts Center lends itself to any and all event types, but it also allows for unique design and logistical elements to be introduced into the venue.
We’re very excited about the Woonasquatucket Vision Plan Charette, Nov. 14-18, where the city’s Department of Planning and Development team will be on-site all week, inviting the public to provide input to their process through a series of open sessions. We’re also beginning to piece together our own creative programming for 2018 and are beyond excited to make some amazing announcements over the next few months.
PBN: Tell us about the one thing you wish every organization that plans an event did, or knew, in advance.
OBERLANDER: Facilitating an event at the WaterFire Arts Center is not as simple as unlocking a few doors. The WaterFire Arts Center is the home of WaterFire Providence, where our office, storage and production spaces exist on the periphery of our event spaces. It’s also very important to note that the organization is a 501(c)3 nonprofit and any income to the Arts Center goes directly to support our WaterFire lightings downtown on the river and also future arts-related programming in our building.
Also, confetti and glitter is practically impossible to clean up – please refrain from incorporating it in your event!
PBN: You recently played host to the Cox Business Get Started event. What was your favorite part of planning this annual gathering?
OBERLANDER: It seems that every event coming into our building has a new vision for the space, and it’s always exciting to watch it unfold. Working with the Cox Business Get Started RI team was a pleasure, and the design of the event was beautiful. On our end, the event provided us an opportunity to discover new capabilities of our in-house lighting system, where we’re now able to individually set and program every light fixture individually. These are the types of details that are tedious but extremely rewarding and uniquely beneficial to future events coming into our space.
PBN: Finally, how does working with local caterers set WaterFire apart from other event spaces in Providence?
OBERLANDER: The consistency is crucial for successful events in a unique space like ours. Russell Morin Catering & Events has been the perfect partner for WaterFire, and we are continuously working together to brainstorm how we make every event even better than the last.
Galen Auer is a PBN contributing writer.
