By Audrey Elwood, Arts and Entertainment Editor

BLINK, a festival consisting of lights, food and a celebration of Cincinnati arts and culture graced downtown Cincinnati last weekend. All throughout downtown the streets were adorned with projections and murals, each celebrating the unique characteristics of the Queen City. 

The new murals that were unveiled were beautiful, particularly the ones focusing on hyper realism. One of the standouts was Leon Keer’s self-titled piece in the Findlay Market section, featuring teacups stacked and appearing to be leaning out of the wall. 

Projected light shows were integrated seamlessly into the murals downtown.  My favorite was the Cincinnatus Experience. This piece by CincyIlluminations, VINCE FRASER and Wendy Yu encompassed the city’s namesake Cincinnatus. Located at the intersection of Vine St. and East Central Pkwy, the light show had a myriad of backdrops. However, the most interesting part was how they incorporated the Cincinnatus mural within the art. 

The Cincinnatus Experience wasn’t the only mural that used the natural surroundings within the art works. There were creative uses of windows and fixtures as well. This piece, appropriately titled “The Music Hall Experience” by Chaske Haverkos and Susan Kosti, was a projection on the Cincinnati Music Hall that used the stained glass window as the basis for the show. Onlookers were huddled within Washington Park, marveling at the fixture alongside the other collection of light exhibits within the park’s core. 

Drawing an estimated two million people to downtown each evening, BLINK is a major economic driver for the Cincinnati region, injecting a projected boost of $126 million dollars into the area. Additionally, fixtures like the Asianti market in the downtown zone celebrated local businesses. The market included Asian dishes and Asian goods was packed to the brim with customers. Sponsored by Always Period Products, the market had the hopes of raising awareness of period poverty.

When people talk about BLINK, oftentimes the food vendors are overshadowed. However, there was a massive selection of different cuisines to select from. Food trucks lined the busy streets and many restaurants had pop-up tents outside of their permanent locations. The self-described “mostly French” restaurant Colette, located in Washington Park created a special drink just for BLINK. The Parisian hot chocolate was a thick, decadent drink that coated your mouth with a rich, bittersweet flavor. To balance the thickness of the chocolate, there was a homemade marshmallow on a stick, freshly torched for the drinker to mix in. It was so amazing, I got two. 

It truly is a unique experience: it’s only once every two years the Cincinnati skyline gets lit up by BLINK. The amount of people roaming the streets was a very heartwarming sight. Kids running and trying to grab the projections, people waving lights while walking down the street and even just people sharing a beer all added to the atmosphere. Cincinnati’s heart was teeming with life, showing how much heart Cincinnati really has.