Justin Brookhart, executive director of BLINK, said the walk-through festival of lights, art and projection-mapping displays occupy more than 30 city blocks throughout the area.
“One of the things we love about BLINK is that it’s this beloved Cincinnati homegrown event, but it’s also pretty young. We’ve only produced three of these before. We are going into our fourth edition this year,” he said. “While it has a huge impression and following in the Cincinnati region, there are people from all over the country that are discovering us for the first time.”
After drawing more than 2.1 million attendees and generating a $126 million economic impact in 2022, BLINK is an even more expansive and immersive experience in 2024. The Aronoff Center and Music Hall are among the buildings that feature art installations/exhibitions.
BLINK is a biennial event. This year’s theme is “Let It Shine,” and the BLINK “Let It Shine Parade” will step off at 8 p.m. Thursday, starting west of Paycor Stadium on Mehring Way, traveling along the riverfront to Great American Ball Park.
Get a free ride there
For those in Butler County, the Regional Transit Authority, Metro and TANK are partnering to provide free rides to the 2024 BLINK event.
Beginning at 6 p.m. nightly through Sunday, Metro and TANK will offer fare-free rides. All rides on both networks, including free direct routes to BLINK via three Park and Ride locations. Drop off will be at the Riverfront Transit Center.
BCRTA’s CincyLink will shuttle BLINK patrons from Park and Ride locations to the Riverfront Transit Station from 5:30-11 p.m. Butler County’s Park and Ride start points are at the Middletown Meijer, 3651 Towne Blvd. and the West Chester Twp. Meijer, 7390 Tylersville Road.
Location, location, location
The festival is divided up in various zones, including an “Over-the-Rhine Zone,” a “Findlay Market Zone,” a “Downtown Zone,” “The Banks Zone” a “Covington Zone,” and new this year, a “Newport Zone” and “Blink at Lytle Park.” Also new this year will be suggested walking routes. Download an event map or use the interactive map on the Blink website at blinkcincinnati.com.
Visitors don’t need to start at a specific location. Organizers recommend visitors start at one zone, experience one or two zones during a visit and return for another visit. Guests can walk between installations.
On the Cincinnati side, visitors can take the streetcar for free and exit at the various stops to view the installations.
With support from altafiber, the festival will partner with Sky Elements Drone Shows to put on a “Mystic Eye” drone show, which will be put on twice nightly, at 8 and 10 p.m. The drone show is viewable from both sides of the river. Viewing locations are noted on the festival map.
The festival will feature a variety of food and beverage vendors, including the Asianati Night Market on Court Street Plaza (visit asianati.com for details). There’s also a fashion show presented by designer Asha Ama at 8 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
On Saturday, beginning at 10 p.m., the festival will host “Afterglow,” a ticketed after-party featuring DJ Austin Millz at MegaCorp Pavilion.
How to get around
City streets spanning the BLINK footprint will be closed during the event. All parking garages outside of BLINK will be open at event pricing. There are some reserved parking spaces available for purchase online. BLINK is best experienced as a pedestrian.
Staff Writer Michael D. Pitman contributed to this report.
How to go
What: Blink
When: 7-11 p.m. Oct. 17–20, 2024
Where: Downtown Cincinnati, spanning from Findlay Marking in Over-the-Rhine through downtown Cincinnati and into Northern Kentucky
Admission: Free
More info: www.blinkcincinnati.com
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