CINCINNATI — BLINK 2022 officially kicked off Thursday night, but there are still three more nights of fun and beautiful art installations around downtown Cincinnati, Over-the-Rhine and Covington. If you're headed out to the festival and overwhelmed by the 101 art installations scattered throughout more than 30 city blocks, we've got your back.

Here are the top nine BLINK installations you should check out this weekend:

Euthenia

Stretching across a long building at the corner of Race and Liberty streets, Euthenia shows a mural lit up by projections and art. Designed by Insane 51 out of Greece, the mural depicts Euthenia, the ancient Greek spirit of prosperity. As the lights project onto her, different layers and features are exposed.

Toroid

Located along Freedom Way at The Banks, Toroid is a physical framework that lights up as "light itself depicts the human construct of time and the linear slices of Toroid emphasize the human prerequisite for time to be tangibly segmented." The installation is designed by This Is Loop, a collaborative artistic partnership by Harriet Lumby and Alan Hayes of the United Kingdom.

Mr. Dynamite

OTR's James Brown mural is already an iconic mainstay in Cincinnati, and artist Kyle Eli Ebersole is emphasizing that greatness even more with Mr. Dynamite. The art projection sends viewers on Brown's musical journey and highlights his career with Cincinnati-based Kings Record, with whom Brown produced many of his earlier hits.

Timisien

Arguably the most immersive installation of Blink 2022, Timisien by Architects of Air is an inflatable luminarium at Ziegler Park. The installation does have an entry fee — $15 for adults, $10 for children 2 to 10. You can purchase tickets ahead of time to bypass any lines for the exhibit as well. For those that enter the luminarium, you're encouraged to wander freely or simply lay back and enjoy the ambiance of the structure. Another heads up for those interested, you do take your shoes off for this installation, so you're advised to wear socks.

In The Middle — Memorial Hall

Designed by Antaless Visual Design, an artistic "evolution" of Italy's Alessio Cassaro, In the Middle sees the "logical and surreal meat and 'collide' continuously, showing us that one or more dimensions can exist and coexist." The installation is also very close to Washington Park, which has food, drinks and music to enjoy during BLINK. There are also multiple other installations in that vicinity to enjoy.

Eyes Up Drone Show

Lighting up the sky two times per night (8 p.m. and 10 p.m.), the Eyes Up Drone Show is displayed over the Ohio River between The Banks and Covington's installations. The show features more than 300 drones forming different images in the sky — you can even catch the WCPO logo in the air on Saturday. You can watch the show on either the Covington or Cincinnati side of the river as well.

String Theory For Dummies

Another immersive installation, String Theory For Dummies, allows attendees to play with yarn strung across a structure. The yarn is then lit up into multiple neon colors. The installation — which is designed by Daniel Shields, Jamebo Corsini and Daniel Hiudt — aims to showcase accessible art and art that doesn't have a barrier between it and people. Attendees are encouraged to grab balls of yarn to "develop your string theory" and have an installation created by everyone.

String Theory for Dummies

In The Middle — Mother of God Church

Same name, different look and location. Antaless Visual Design also designed In The Middle at the Mother of God Roman Catholic Church in Covington. The installation uses lights, shadows the multiplication of objects and more to illuminate the building. Similar to his Memorial Hall design, "the goal is to demonstrate how the artist can be completely at the service of architecture," but the new architecture gives his art a new vibe. Don't skip this one just because you saw his work in OTR.

Toy Heritage Mural

If you feel like paying homage to your inner child, the Toy Heritage Mural on West Court Street in Cincinnati is for you. Designed by Graffmapping, who hails from Spain, the installation illuminates Jonathan Queen's existing mural. You can see favorites such as Yoda, Mr. Potato Head, a Care Bear and more on the wall. The installation is also located near BLINK's Asianati Night Market, where you can find special drink and food options.

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CINCINNATI — Partners and supporters of BLINK will celebrate the official completion of Ohio’s largest mural with a dedication Saturday morning.

The mural, an homage to Cincinnati's rich musical culture, features pioneering legends like Mamie Smith, The Isley Brothers, James Brown, Doris Day and Bootsy Collins. Collins, a Cincinnati native best known for the group Parliament-Funkadelic, is scheduled to attend the dedication. Mural artist Tristan Eaton, ArtsWave CEO Alecia Kintner and BLINK executive director Justin Brookhart will also be in attendance.

The dedication will take place in front of the completed mural at 100 W. 5th Street from 10:30–11 a.m.

BLINK, a light and arts festival spanning 30 blocks, drew an estimated 2 million people during its four-day run from Oct. 13-16.

CINCINNATI — Blink weekend is almost here and thousands of people will be traveling to and descending upon Over-the-Rhine, downtown Cincinnati and Covington.

To combat the headache of traveling into the city and attempting to park, Cincinnati Metro and TANK (Transit Authority of Northern Kentucky) are offering free fares each night of the neighborhood-spanning festival.

Each night from Oct. 13-16, Metro and TANK buses will offer fare-free rides beginning at 6 p.m.

There will be direct routes to Blink available at four park-and-ride locations, and these routes will drop attendees off at the Riverfront Transit Center for both Metro and TANK. TANK will also drop attendees off at the Covington Transit Center.

These four park-and-ride locations are: Cincinnati State, Cincinnati Public Schools Board of Education, UC Digital Futures Building and Northern Kentucky University.

The last trip from NKU to Covington is at 9 p.m., and TANK buses will operate from the Covington Transit Center back to park-and-ride locations until 11 p.m.

All local Northern Kentucky TANK service will operate as normally scheduled, but service in Cincinnati will only operate to the Riverfront Transit Center after 6 p.m.

Due to street closures in Cincinnati, Metro's Government Square will close each night at 6:15 p.m., and anyone waiting then will be shuttled to the Regional Transit Center. As streets reopen, Government Square is expected to also reopen at 12:30 a.m.

All new and existing transit users who use the Transit app between Thursday and Sunday to purchase Metro fare will be gifted a free Metro 24-hour pass through the app. Similarly, anyone who registers a new Transit with EZ Fare account through the app during Blink or anyone that uses the Transit app to purchase fare during the day will be entered to win a raffle prize from Metro.

TANK is also having promotional giveaways, drawings and more at NKU as people wait for their buses.

The fare-free rides comes as Blink brings multiple road closures at various times throughout the weekend.

For more in-depth details for both Metro and TANK, click here.

You can catch up on all the preparations for Blink and everything you need to know to have a fun weekend here.

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