Blink Cincinnati

If you were one of the thousands of Cincinnati-area residents to head to Blink Cincinnati, you were part of a new city experience. For some, the experience was limited by crowds and traffic. For others, it was a weekend of creativity, inspiration, and fun. The 20-block Blink Festival spanned from the Banks to Findlay Market, and seeing all the displays required multiple trips. We spent the weekend at Blink, and here are a few of the takeaways from the weekend:

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A note on transportation: We purchased streetcar tickets via the app ‘Cincy EZRide’. Thursday, the streetcar shut down and 5th street was closed due to an accident. Wendy’s family has some anxiety around crowded spaces, so they walked the route in lieu of packing in the streetcars. For such a large event, it was a shame to miss the streetcar.

Impulse - Giant Lightup SeeSaws in front of the Freedom Center was great interactive installation. By the Freedom Center, this was the only installation in this area that peaked my interest. Loved how kids of all ages participated, children, adults and even my 71 year old mother were having fun with this experience.

Freedom Center – this installation turned the corner, which I can only imagine must be a real feat to pull off, since light doesn’t bend like that. My favorite part of this installation was the way the light emphasized the rough cut stone work, so simple yet so impactful

Brite Idea - Giant Lite Brite, but we think people were taking the pegs as souvenirs. Who doesn’t love their old Lite Brite!

Dusk & Dawn – 580 skywalk. This was cute and playful, animated characters acted out scenes as they moved about the skywalk.

Contemporary Arts Center – was very architectural with different projections on the different planes of the building. One of my favorites in this area, very geometric, like the iconic building by Zaha Hadid, it also was able to reflect off the various planes seamlessly.

Intrude – Giant bunnies, thirteen year old’s comment “Are those bunnies being suggestive?” They are offset, but you can’t really tell when they are lit up.

Charlie Harper Homecoming Mural – Love the mural, loved watching the birds come to life. This painting is very static. The installation surprises the viewer by bringing it to life

St. Louis Church – loved the bright colors and whimsical falling stars. The projection really emphasized the vertical lines on the façade. I wish we could have gone inside to see how the light coming in from the windows affected the interior.

For the Birds Mural – Bringing murals to life as bird start to fly. The colors on this were more muted to play off the color palette of the mural. It brings out the spirit of the painting and the movement that is implied

Covenant First Presbyterian Church Lighted Display - Loved the bright colors on this façade as the focal point walking west on Garfield Place.

Summerfair in the City – Summerfair has always been one of my favorite events in Cincinnati. I’ve rarely missed it in the 30 years I’ve lived here. What fun to have this experience in the city at night. I always like to incorporate shopping into any experience.

This was a fun event that drew so many into the city, drawing their attention to things they may have never noticed before. Definitely opening up a different interpretation of the projections