Your ultimate Blink guide.
If you don't have multiple nights to dedicate to Blink, the 35-block festival can be overwhelming. Where should you start? What should you skip? That's where we come in. Take this quiz and share it with a friend!
It's a normal Saturday in Cincinnati. Where are we most likely to find you?
Pick your ideal pre-Blink pit stop.
You can only see one display. What's your criteria?
What are you trying to avoid at Bllink?
What would make you call your overall BLINK night a success?
🏟️ The Banks BLINKer → The Banks + riverfront
Your BLINK: The Banks + riverfront
You're happiest within sight of a stadium, so don't overthink this.
⏱️ Your one-hour route
START: Black Music Walk of Fame
↓ Voyage to Atlantis Fashion Show
↓ Walk east through The Banks
↓ Smale Riverfront Park
↓ Skate Downtown Cincy beneath the Roebling Suspension Bridge
↓ FINISH: Ohio riverfront
⭐ Don't miss: On Friday, Saturday and Sunday, make the Dimensions of Wonder drone show your grand finale. Shows are scheduled for 8pm and 10pm.
If you have more time: Cross the Roebling and keep BLINKing in Covington.
Your BLINK philosophy: Big lights. Big landmarks. Minimal wandering.
🎨 The Findlay Market regular → Findlay Market + northern OTR
Your BLINK: Findlay Market + northern OTR
You'd rather discover something cool than stand in the biggest crowd of the night.
⏱️ Your one-hour route
START: Findlay Market
↓ Light Ship
↓ Check out the new murals around the market, including works from MEDIANERAS, Dulk and Max Sansing
↓ In-Can-Descent
↓ Walk south on Race Street
↓ FINISH: Music Hall
⭐ Don't miss: Give yourself time to wander around Findlay Market instead of treating it like a checkpoint. This is the route for people who actually like stumbling onto things.
Saturday bonus: Sellew Alley becomes an open-air studio during the day as artists create permanent murals.
Your BLINK philosophy: Wander first. Look at the map later.
🍸 The OTR social butterfly → OTR
Your BLINK: OTR
You want art. You also want somewhere to get a drink afterward — or before. We don't judge.
⏱️ Your one-hour route
START: Art Academy of Cincinnati/Jackson Street
↓ Polka-DOTober
↓ Wander west through OTR
↓ Washington Park
↓ FINISH: Music Hall Experience
⭐ Don't miss: Polka-DOTober turns Jackson Street into a mini-festival with projection mapping, light sculptures, DJs, dance and fire performers.
Perfect timing: Friday through Sunday, aim to reach Music Hall around 8:30pm or 10:30pm for its scheduled performance.
If you have more time: Don't leave OTR. Get a drink.
Your BLINK philosophy: Art → drink → art → "Should we get another drink?"
🥟 The foodie → Court Street + downtown
Your BLINK: Court Street + downtown
Let's be serious. You were always going to plan this around dinner.
⏱️ Your one-hour route
START: Asianati Night Market at Court Street Plaza
↓ Eat. Obviously.
↓ Explore the Court Street installations
↓ Head toward Piatt Park
↓ Continue through the Fountain District
↓ FINISH: Fountain Square
⭐ Don't miss: Asianati has 17 food vendors this year, representing cuisines from across Asia and the Pacific Islands.
Pro tip: Start early. Asianati opens at 5pm, two hours before BLINK's lights officially turn on.
If you have more time: Keep heading south toward The Banks instead of backtracking.
Your BLINK philosophy: Follow the lights. And the smell of dumplings.
👨👩👧👦 The BLINK parent/Mileage minimalist → Family-friendly downtown
Your BLINK: Maximum wow, minimum mileage
You have no interest in telling a 4-year-old, "Just six more blocks."
⏱️ Your one-hour route
START: The Glow Pavilion at dEcORa
↓ Immersive art + family activities
↓ Explore the closest downtown installations
↓ Take a strategic snack/bathroom break
↓ Pick one big nearby projection
↓ FINISH: While everyone is still having fun.
The Glow Pavilion has family-friendly music, face painting, light-up balloons, food, immersive art, phone charging and — parents, rejoice — bathrooms.
⭐ Saturday alternative: Head to Polka-DOTober during the day for chalk art and hula hoops — plus Cincinnati Zoo skunk Marshmallow from 2–3pm.
The rule: Do not look at the map and suddenly decide, "We could probably make it to the river."
You cannot. Abort mission.
Your BLINK philosophy: Five "WHOA!"s and zero meltdowns.
🌉 The NKY loyalist → Covington
Your BLINK: Covington
Why cross the river when one of BLINK's densest collections of art is already on your side?
⏱️ Your one-hour route
START: Sixth Street/MainStrasse
↓ Tobacco Alley
↓ Check out the new Tobacco Alley Mural Series
↓ Work north through Covington's installations and projections
↓ Head toward the river
↓ FINISH: Kentucky riverfront
Covington has 20 BLINK works this year, meaning you can see a lot without leaving the neighborhood.
⭐ Saturday bonus: Tobacco Alley becomes an open-air studio during the day as artists create permanent murals live.
Friday-Sunday: Time your riverfront arrival for an 8pm or 10pm Dimensions of Wonder drone show.
Your BLINK philosophy: No bridge crossing required.
🏙️ The downtown culture nerd → Fountain District + Lytle Park
Your BLINK: Fountain District + Lytle Park
You like architecture, museums, old Cincinnati buildings and knowing what was there before whatever is there now.
⏱️ Your one-hour route
START: Contemporary Arts Center
↓ Explore the Fountain District installations
↓ Aronoff Center
↓ Head south/east through downtown
↓ Charley & Edie Harper at the Mercantile Immersive
↓ FINISH: Lytle Park
The Fountain District has 22 BLINK works, so don't feel compelled to check off every installation. Pick what catches your eye.
⭐ Don't miss: The Charley and Edie Harper immersive experience requires a reservation. If you snag one, make that time slot the anchor for your entire route.
If you have more time: Wander back toward Fountain Square and let yourself get distracted.
Your BLINK philosophy: Come for the projection mapping. Stay for the architecture.
✨ One last BLINK rule: Do not try to see everything. BLINK itself recommends tackling just one or two zones at a time.
The best BLINK night isn't the one where you checked off the most installations. It's the one where you actually stopped long enough to see them.