Blink and You Miss the Cincinnati Light Show

Post date: Oct 31, 2017 3:19:48 PM

Published 10/20/17

By Sydney Rhone, '18

Bright lights illuminate the streets and buildings of Downtown Cincinnati on Oct. 12-15. The BLINK festival included projections, displays and new art installations across all of downtown which brought Cincinnati to life for a weekend as thousands of people came to view it each day.

The BLINK light festival illuminated Downtown Cincinnati on Oct. 12-15, creating a vibrant atmosphere throughout the city. Rivaling the Lumenocity festival in 2016, BLINK covered twenty blocks and included light shows, interactive displays, art installations, murals and vivid projections that adorned the city’s historical architecture. Thousands gathered during the festival’s four day span, taking advantage of the picturesque scenery and sharing the event on social media. SENIOR Regan Anderson attended the event on Saturday, Oct. 14, the busiest day of the festival. “My favorite part of BLINK was the ‘Swing and Sway’ projection,” Anderson said, expressing her appreciation for the Rosemary Clooney video projection on Pleasant Street. However, Anderson added that she found it difficult to find a display that stood out more than the others. With over 20 projections and 35 art installations throughout the downtown area, a day at BLINK proved to be an adventure for all who attended. Although the event has ended, nine murals remain to remind the city of the beauty of the neon installments and optical illusions which BLINK brought. This being the first year of the event, many have expressed their hopes of it returning. This sentiment was captured in the commonly heard phrase, “Happy BLINK!” This exchange among festival-goers expresses the excitement and liveliness BLINK brought to Cincinnati and the light it shed on the community that made the event a success.