Cincinnati Blink four-day art and light festival raises dazzle Downtown

Blink is nearly here. The first four-day art and light festival has been in the works for more than a year. Thousands of artists -- professionals and amateurs -- have created work for Blink, and it’s already earning positive attention for Greater Cincinnati. And you're invited. Everyone is invited. All you have to do is get Downtown. "We want everybody in Cincinnati to feel like they have a creative spark," said Steve McGowan, co-founder of Brave Berlin, one of the agencies that organized Blink. "We want people to discover the city through art. When the sun goes down, that's when the lights go on and the show begins." Here are nine things to know about Blink. The basics Blink runs Oct. 12-15. The free event covers the 20 blocks between the Banks and Findlay Market, essentially surrounding the route of the Cincinnati Bell Connector Streetcar. There are things to see during daylight hours (more on that below), but light projections will start around dusk each evening - about 7 p.m. - and run through midnight. Blink comprises more than 60 art projects, including 21 light projections, 27 lighted art installations and nine new murals on Pleasant Street. All of this was organized by Brave Berlin, ArtWorks and AGAR Agency, and the Cincinnati USA Regional Chamber handled logistics. Blink cost $3.6 million to put together, but thanks to donations from the Carol Ann and Ralph V. Haile Jr./U.S. Bank Foundation, Procter & Gamble, Western & Southern, Rhinegeist, Fifth/Third Bank, PNC Bank, Duke Energy and many other philanthropies and businesses, it's totally free to the public. "At its core, Blink is for the city," said Dan Reynolds, Brave Berlin co-founder. "It's for everyone."