Of course, there were some official police vehicles leading the way but the real 2022 BLINK Cincinnati parade started off with this happy guy in a glowing pedal-powered pig. I probably could have staked out a spot with a clear view when I arrived but, as usual, I walked around looking at stuff until spectators two or more deep lined the route. Even so, I could see most of the parade; I just couldn’t get a clear camera shot very often. I believe that when BLINK happened in 2017 it was seen as a one-time experiment. It might not have been thought of that way by everyone but that is kind of the way it was presented. The experiment was so successful that it came back in 2019 and this time it was advertised as a biennial event. It was quickly knocked off of the planned pace by COVID-19 but only by a year. Instead of a 2021 appearance, it’s happening now in 2022.

I can’t attach names to many of the parade participants but I do know that’s Dance Flash Fusion in black and green.

Everyone in these pictures shall remain nameless because I haven’t a clue. The gals in the first picture almost look like they can fly when they spread their wings.

The major new thing at this year’s BLINK would be synchronized drones over the Ohio River and that’s where I headed as soon as the parade ended. I snapped a picture of the “Together” light sculpture and continued on to the river’s edge. I arrived about half an hour before show time but the half-mile walk to get there put me in the mood to stand still for a while. Waiting was pretty pleasant with interesting river scenes on one side and good music on the other. “39 West” provided the music although neither they nor the stage is shown on the BLINK website.

From my spot on the railing, I could see the drones lift off row by row then dance through various formations over the water.

I believe the “eye” is more or less the BLINK logo. A short video I took of part of the show can be seen here

After the drone show, I headed uptown. The area is most often referred to as downtown but getting there from the riverfront is definitely up. The mural of famous travel photographer Neil Armstrong with his camera is not part of BLINK but one of Cincinnati’s many permanent ArtWorks murals. The building beyond is the Contemporary Art Center which is being used for the “The Manifold Potential” projection.

This is a projection named “Little Africa”. It’s one of the few displays I’d read anything about before going and really the only one I sort of sought out. It begins with or ends with or maybe just contains this text panel. 

I’m rather partial to mapped projections. I prefer them to what BLINK calls light sculptures even though I’m not 100% sure I could explain the difference. In my mind, projections contain actual images and are often formatted to match the target surface. Light sculptures are closer to psychedelic light shows of the 1960s shining abstract patterns onto the target. This is a projection called “To the Moon” on the American Building.

I didn’t quite reach “The Inside Out” but I did reach Ziegler Park from where I could see the projection in the distance. Ziegler Park is as far north and east as I made it. Earlier in the evening, I’d thought I might grab something to eat at Asianati Night Market where ten local Asian restaurants had stands set up. However, when I finally stumbled into the place on my way to the car, all I wanted to do was keep moving. I know I saw a lot less than half of all the displays but I think I’ll just have to be satisfied with that. In 2019, I attended two nights and still didn’t see it all. I could go back ln Sunday evening for one more shot following publication of this post but I doubt I will. I’m much more likely to be sitting at home resting my still-tired feet.