Northern Kentucky, Cincinnati BLINK with big gay lights
Having grown up in Louisville, I was convinced — and a part of me still is — that Jefferson County reigns supreme in the Bluegrass. I’ve spent plenty of time gaying it up in Lexington and way too much time in Bowling Green and its surrounding counties as a WKU student, and ventured off to areas of our Appalachian region, but Northern Kentucky? Who was she? An extension of Cincinnati? Barely a blip on my radar and certainly not a destination to tickle my pickle.
Sure, I’ve driven to and through Cincinnati more times than I can count, always gawking at the “Florence Y’all” water tower and giving the whole spiel about why it says “y’all” instead of “mall”… you know the drill.
But 2024 has been the year of Northern Kentucky for me — or at least Covington — and I’ve got Queer Kentucky’s executive director, Missy Spears and BLINK to thank for that. Let’s dive in.
Between the rainbow crosswalks linking up its queer and queer-adjacent bars and shops, I didn’t find the small-minded small town folk I expected. Instead, I found a crew of weirdos — the best kind. People selling taxidermied animals, vintage bookstores straight out of the 1950s where it feels like you could light up a cigarette and no one would care, and oh, the restaurants! Louisville may always get the “foodie” nod, but have you tried Mama’s or Goodfella’s on Covington’s Mainstrasse? It’s a whole vibe.
One of the big draws this year was BLINK, the massive light and art festival that transforms both Cincinnati and Covington into a surreal, neon-drenched wonderland. It’s like the entire city becomes a living, breathing art installation, with murals, projections, and light shows taking over buildings, bridges, and streets.
It’s a sensory overload in the best possible way, and wandering through Covington and Cincinnati during BLINK, I realized how much this place had to offer. Though BLINK isn’t exclusively queer, it’s drenched in bright, flashy attractions, and with DJ Boywife and Siri Imani doing their things at a couple of the events — it’s definitely a little gay. Plus, I found BLINK to be an incredibly sober-friendly experience for folks in recovery. One night, a group of my sober Judys and I beebopped around downtown Cinci and Covington, soaking in the lights and energy instead of substances.
Five Favorite Installations:
THE MUSIC HALL EXPERIENCE – OK, I immersed myself in this work of art twice. The official BLINK installation created by Chaske Haverkos, Susan Kosti, Lightborne and AVextended brought big ole crowds to its doors. The installation has theater organist Trent Sims playing a medley of new and classic songs on the 1927 Mighty Wurlitzer Organ while dazzling exterior building projections and interior glowing lights entertain the eye for about a five minute show to remember.
PARALUNA: This trance-inducing experience by artist Christopher Schardt, is a 28-foot-wide disc covered in over 14,000 full-color LEDs. As it spins, it puts on a mesmerizing display that taps into the eye’s persistence of vision. The vibrant patterns are perfectly choreographed to classical music, creating a visual and auditory spectacle. Laying beneath the spinning glow, surrounded by friends and strangers, a sense of community formed while a drone show lit up the distance. It was lights everywhere, paired with dramatic classical music — a surreal, immersive scene.
BARTER BOAT: Barter Boat, created by Radar Art, is an interactive installation where visitors can trade objects with the artists. These items then become part of a rotating inventory that travels to the installation’s next location. The project challenges the U.S.’s single-use consumer culture by exploring the emotional, artistic, and personal value people find in everyday objects. Barter Boat began in Minneapolis and has since visited more than 10 states.
The installation operates much like a carnival game, but without cost, and everyone leaves with a prize. Visitors are encouraged to bring a meaningful object they don’t mind carrying for the rest of the festival. In return, they’ll trade for an item previously collected at another Barter Boat stop.
BIOMIMICRY: Aesthetically, this looked like a disco ball being built in the shape of a house. This was my favorite in Newport, and Newport had some amazing works. The artist, Hotaru Visual Guerrilla, takes inspiration from nature to develop sustainable solutions in fields such as architecture. It adheres to key life principles, including building from the ground up, optimizing, embracing diversity, adapting, symbiosis, and improving the biosphere. This project examines the intersections of nature and technology, creating abstract compositions where architectural and organic structures blend, resulting in new forms of animated architecture.
VANISHING PORTRAIT: Another Covington favorite with lots of smoky portraits. Tucked away in a parking garage in downtown Covington, this experience was very different from the rest, using smoke, light and video portraits to create movement. The artists at Drive Media House, say that The Vanishing Portrait is a city wide portrait of citizens of Cincinnati transitioning one to another. Captured on video in studio and portrayed on a cascading wall of fog.
Needless to say, I’ve fallen a little in love with the NKY region. And with festivals like BLINK lighting the way, I know I’ll be back — this time, with Covington firmly tickling my pickle.