Blink 2026 is the fifth iteration of the four-night light and art festival, and it faces some new challenges this year.
There will be more than a hundred projection mapping scenes, light-based sculptures, live performances and other events this year, from Findlay Market in the north, to Covington's 8th Street in the south.
While much of Blink's exhibits and activities don't start until dark, there are daytime components of Blink too — but more on that in a moment.
How it begins
In past years, Blink has opened with a parade. This year, a street party kicks off the festival.
Central Parkway will be closed between Liberty Street and Ezzard Charles, outside TQL Stadium.
The party will start Thursday at 4 p.m. and continue until 9 p.m., and will feature a DJ, interactive art, marching bands, and a drone show. There's also a performance by lovelytheband.
The winner of a children's coloring contest will flip a switch for an official "turn on the lights" moment to launch Blink.
Highlights and must-sees
Blink will have 92 artists from 20 different countries, including 30 local artists. About half of the artists are presenting for the first time.
Music Hall could be called the birthplace of Blink with Lumenocity in 2013. Projection mapping returned to Music Hall in 2024, and will do so again this year, with four different shows.
Drone shows over the Ohio River, next to the Roebling Suspension Bridge are Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, at 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.
At Fountain Square, the Tyler Davidson Fountain will be painted with lasers.
Lytle Park, at East Fourth Street and Pike, will have four light installations.
The Art Academy of Cincinnati hosts Polka-Dotober, with large-scale 3D projection mapping, professional and student-created light sculptures, DJs and live music, and exhibits from FotoFocus Biennial: The Long View, inside.
Covington is getting 10 new murals planned along the Madison Avenue corridor.
Other things Blink
A fashion show from designer Asha Ama, named for the Isley Brothers' song "Voyage to Atlantis," is each night, starting at 7:30 p.m., at the Black Music Walk of Fame, at Elm and Mehering Way.
At Liberty and Elm, there's a temporary skate park from Cincinnati Skatepark Project, bringing athleticism and kinetic movement to Blink.
The Asianati Night Market will take over Court Street, with food vendors, and carnival-style games.
Cincinnati Public Radio is hosting its free Silent Disco again on Friday and Saturday from 8 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. The party is at the Findlay Market Farm Shed.
Daytime Blink
On Saturday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Tobacco Alley in Covington and Sellew Alley in Findlay Market will host more than a dozen artists creating permanent murals.
Mercantile Immersive on Fourth Street will host a multi-media display around Charley and Edie Harper's nature-themed art. The installation featuring music and animation presented on floor to ceiling LED displays is free, Friday through Sunday, but reservations are required.
Fifteen empty storefronts in Over-the-Rhine are home to pop-up art galleries as part of Cincinnati Art Week. The galleries are open from noon to 7 p.m., each day during Blink.
Construction road closures
Construction around the Brent Spence Companion Bridge project may make it difficult for some people to get to everything they want to see.
The Ohio Department of Transportation has closed the ramp from eastbound US 50 to southbound I-75, closed the ramp from northbound I-71 to Second Street, installed a temporary ramp from southbound I-75 to Third Street, and closed the ramp from westbound US 50 to Gest Street.
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has closed the ramp from northbound I-71/75 to 12th Street.
Zones and street closures
Several official zones make up the official Blink footprint. Some of the streets in these zones will be blocked to vehicles to create pedestrian malls.
In Covington, Park Place and Court Street closed last weekend, to allow for the set-up of two light projections, and two installations.
Thursday night, and for the rest of Blink, the Roebling Bridge and the approach to the bridge will be closed to vehicles, from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Madison Avenue from Fourth to 8th streets, and a few adjacent blocks will be closed to vehicles each night from 6 to 11.
Covington is designating closed streets as an Entertainment Destination Center, allowing open containers in specially marked cups. West Fifth and Greenup streets will stay open to vehicles, with police directing traffic and pedestrians.
In Cincinnati, in The Banks zone, Freedom Way will be closed between Race and Marian Spencer Way. And since the Roebling Suspension Bridge will be closed each night from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m., the streets approaching it will also be for pedestrians only.
The three zones in Cincinnati's Central Business District have a lot more street closings.
Downtown — or what's being called the Fountain Zone — on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, the Department of Transportation and Engineering and Cincinnati Police will close the following streets from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m.:
- Vine and Walnut will be closed between Third and Central Parkway.
- Main Street will be closed between Second Street and Central Parkway.
- Fourth Street and Seventh Streets between Main and Race will be restricted, but officers could close them if they become too crowded.
- Third, Fifth, Sixth and Ninth will still be open for east-west traffic.
- Plum Street is closed between 8th and 9th.
- Court Street is closed between Race and Walnut.
The Over-the-Rhine Zone stretches from Central Parkway to Liberty.
- Elm and Race streets closed between Central Parkway to Liberty.
- Main and Jackson streets closed between Central Parkway and Twelfth.
- Twelfth Street will be closed from Main, west to Central Parkway.
- Fourteenth will be closed from Vine to Central Parkway.
- Grant, Magnolia, and Odeon streets closed between Elm and Central Parkway.
The Findlay Market zone is from Liberty to Findlay Street.
- Elm and Race streets will be closed between Liberty to Findlay.
- Wade Street closed between Central Parkway and Elm.
- Green Street closed between Vine and Elm.
- Elder closed between Vine and Central Parkway.
Cincinnati Police will let residents through, and could close additional streets if necessary.
The streetcar will continue on its regular schedule, despite the street closures. In previous years, it has received a police escort to clear crowds.
Mass transit systems still running
The Butler County Regional Transit Authority, Metro, and TANK will all have regular buses running, along with special shuttles.
Government Square, on Fifth between Walnut and Main, will close each night at 6 p.m., and all buses normally stopping there will instead go through the Riverfront Transit Center, beneath the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center, until 12:30 a.m. each morning.
Metro will have two Park & Ride locations, both leading to the Riverfront Transit Center:
- Cincinnati State, 3658 Central Parkway
- Crossroads Oakley, 3500 Madison Road
Shuttles will run from 6 p.m. to midnight each night. Metro Access customers are advised to make advanced reservations.
TANK's Blink Park and Ride is only on Friday and Saturday evenings at NKU. Service will be begin at 6 p.m., and the last bus to Blink leaves at 9 p.m. The last buses back to NKU run at 11 p.m.
TANK is also running the free Licking River Shuttle, between Newport and Covington, because the 4th Street Bridge is being rebuilt.
BCRTA is offering two CincyLink pick-up locations: At the Middletown Meijer at 3651 Towne Blvd, and the Meijer at 7390 Tylersville Rd. in West Chester. The service continues from 4:30 to Midnight each of the four nights of Blink.
Red Bike is offering a special one-week pass, good for two-hour trips at a time. Red Bikes are not allowed on the closed streets.
All three bus systems, and Red Bike, are offering special discounts through the Transit app.
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