Cincinnati welcomes back the art festival Blink
If you found yourself in downtown Cincinnati in mid October and somehow avoided all media outlets than you likely was blindsided by Blink.
Around a million people flooded Queen City which by this point might have been called the city of lights. In 2017 the art festival premiered for a four day stay and was a hit. Fast forward 2 years later and not much has changed. Well that’s not exactly true, about 20 blocks became a Kodak moment (I feel old just saying that). For me personally I was intrigued by something so massive yet alluring. Spoiler alert great time, however it could have easily turned out to be a dud.
I knew it was going to be a problem. I thought I was being smart, this whole blink thing looked interesting but also a headache. Downtown parking is terrible on a normal day, but with the festival? The museum nearby offered parking at their lot plus metro offered a shuttle to get you to and from the event (at a cost of course), and there was a line that wrapped the block. I might be exaggerating, but it was crazy long. I took my spot at the house be of snake way and waited for the metro.
Had some conversations with some people in line, some out of town and nearly an hour later we finally saw our chariot.
Coming up from the underground bus terminal I found myself near the Underground Railroad Freedom Center, and so began the night of lights. To say there was a crowd would be an understatement, you moved in groups of 30. I don’t know how long that pared was but it covered some ground and lasted for a good length of time.
Now I’m not a stranger to fountain square and the surrounding areas but I found myself with a strange sense of exploration. I went down streets I know I traveled a dozen times or more but this time I had to double-check on where I was. There were exhibits of art nearly on every corner. Music played all over. I don’t want to sound overly dramatic but crossing a street was like moving into a different world.
