From Oct. 13-16, BLINK is taking over 30 blocks of Downtown, Over-the-Rhine and Covington with tons of glowing activations, illuminated installations and live entertainment.
That means lots of weekend-long road closures in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky (see a list of those) and an anticipated 1.3 million attendees.
So what's the best way to get around BLINK?
Hint: It's not driving.
BLINK has released an official map noting the location of all 101 installations to see. You can use that to navigate your own way from Findlay Market to Covington during fest hours, which are 7-11 p.m. nightly.
Local arts nonprofit ArtsWave, which helps produce BLINK, has also released its own walking tour of the fest.
"The guided smartphone walking tour features 10 stops on a 1.5-mile loop, which you can do at your own pace anytime during the festival," reads a release. "Each stop offers an immersive experience, curated by the artist, including video introductions, tours of the artists' studios, in-progress sketches and photos, artwork installation videos and biographies."
ArtsWave's BLINK tours are available at givebutter.com/BLINKtour for a $10 donation and can be accessed at any point during BLINK. Proceeds benefit ArtsWave.
These are the free rides being offered during BLINK:
Metro Park & Ride locations (all drop off at the Riverfront Transit Center):
· Cincinnati State (3520 Central Parkway)
· CPS Board of Education (2651 Burnet Ave.)
· UC Digital Futures Building (3044 Reading Rd.)
Park & Ride at Northern Kentucky University (Lots K, L, M):
· TANK will have promotional giveaways, drawings, refreshments, and fun at NKU as people wait for their bus to leave.
· Service begins each night at NKU at 6 p.m. Last trip from NKU to Covington is at 9 p.m.
· Bus makes no stops in between and goes straight to the Covington Transit Center.
· Beginning at 9 p.m. each night, buses will ONLY travel from the Covington Transit Center and drop off at NKU (no pick-ups).
· Buses will operate from the Covington Transit Center back to the park and ride for drop offs until 11 p.m. each night.
The City of Cincinnati also says the streetcar will have all 18 stops open during the festival. It's free to ride and the city is adding more physical streetcars to accommodate the influx of BLINK attendees.
Parking lots and garages along the outskirts of the fest will be open.
For more traffic information and notes, visit cincinnati-oh.gov. And for more about the BLINK festival, visit blinkcincinnati.com.
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