The immersive light and art show known as BLINK is set to return to the Cincinnati area this fall, and organizers and local civic leaders are hoping to see Northern Kentucky included just as it was in 2019.
That year, when an estimated 1.3 million people experienced the massive event, BLINK stretched from downtown Cincinnati to downtown Covington, lighting up bridges, landmarks and buildings.
While Cincinnati will host BLINK again from October 13-16, it is not certain that Northern Kentucky communities will be included.
In an effort to put the south side of the Ohio River back on the BLINK map, Northern Kentucky city governments are being asked to contribute one dollar per resident.
Covington and Newport are possible targets for an extended show.
The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce and the Northern Kentucky Convention and Visitors Bureau (meetNKY) are leading the local effort to raise an estimated $2 million to ensure NKY’s inclusion in BLINK.
It has been suggested that cities could use part of its federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA) funds for the effort.
The City of Covington has expressed support for the effort.
On Monday night, Independence city council weighed the matter.
“BLINK is a transformative event,” said meetNKY CEO Julie Kirkpatrick at the meeting. “You remember the last time it was here in 2019, it brought in one and a half million visitors to the region and left behind a $90 million impact. Beyond that, we think of this as a showcase for our culture in the region. That is what gets people to move here. They want to move to a vibrant region. And where are they going to live? They’re going to live in Independence, they’re going to live across Northern Kentucky.
“I really appreciate Independence leading the way. Its going to be very exciting for me to go back and issue the challenge to other cities that Independence is leading the way.”
Independence Mayor Chris Reinersman chairs the Kenton County Mayors Group where the idea was first explored publicly.
“I think this is going to be the largest event in all of Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky, until we get the World Cup,” NKY Chamber President and CEO Brent Cooper said. “People come from all over to see this; they will be there again this year. I do think the bars and restaurants in Independence will benefit from this event, so we thank you for your support.”
Independence Councilman Chris Vogelpohl asked if the expansion of the festival was definite.
Kirkpatrick said that it is, if the funding is there. She said with business donations and the two largest Kenton County cities, Covington and Independence donating, they are very close to their goal.
“The Cincinnati Chamber coalition has a challenge of creating a stable funding model for this event,” she said. “Their revenues, just like ours, took a big hit during COVID, so we are doing everything we can to put this coalition together as a one-time hit.”
Vogelpohl said he and his family attended BLINK in 2019 and that they enjoyed it. But as far as donating money to the event, he said he kept thinking $29,000 would go a long way to aid other things in Independence that needed the funding.
Mayor Reinersman said that anything that the city can do to help tourism in the region would be good for Independence.
There was still a hesitation when Reinersman called for a motion for the resolution to give $29,000 of the city’s ARPA funds to the coalition, but Councilman Tom Brinker made the motion and Councilman Dave Schafer seconded.
When the voice vote was called, Vogelpohl voted no along with Councilman Greg Waite, while Councilwoman Carol Franzen said she would reluctantly vote yes, but only because it was coming out of the federal funds.
Councilwoman Amy Engleman voted yes and the resolution passed.
In Taylor Mill, the result was different. The city commission there voted in May against a request to donate $6,800 to the event.
Commissioner Rose Merritt said she failed to see any benefit the city would get and commented that it was a lot of money.
Commissioner Dan Murray agreed that it was a lot of money, and even though it was a nice event, he doubted that many people would come out to Taylor Mill.
The only cities in Kenton County which have agreed to donate money, from the ARPA funds or otherwise, are Covington and Independence. But Kirkpatrick was very happy about Independence’s involvement and said it would give her momentum to talk to the other cities about donating.
Other cities have so far either not decided, or decided to keep their ARPA funds within their city. Kirkpatrick said they would like to wrap up the fundraising portion of the project at the end of this month.
