CINCINNATI — Organizers of BLINK have announced the details for Thursday’s kickoff parade, including a new route, a signature theme and for the first time, a collection of torchbearers to help lead the way.

Starting at 7:30 p.m., more than 2,500 participants will light up Fifth Street in downtown Cincinnati. They'll travel west to east, from Broadway Street to Elm Street.

The route is different, and shorter, from past BLINK parades. In 2019, it started on Eighth Street and traveled south down Vine Street to The Banks.

There are several road closures around the parade route, starting at 6:30 p.m. until about 11 p.m. Full details are outlined below.

“The parade is going to be magical,” said Marie Krulewitch-Browne, founding executive and artistic director for ish, BLINK’s parade partner. “This is one of my favorite events and this year’s parade will be the best one yet.”

Event organizers created a new-look route for this year's BLINK Parade. (Photo courtesy of BLINK)

BLINK will transform 30 city blocks between Cincinnati and Covington, Ky. from Thursday, Oct. 13 through Sunday, Oct. 16. 

The light and art festival is one of the biggest events in the region. It attracted more than 1.3 million in 2019, according to estimates from event organizers.

Droves of people will flock downtown each night for the animated murals and light-based installations, from Friday through Sunday. But Thursday looks a little different, with the star of the show being the BLINK Parade.

“The BLINK Parade is the premier kickoff celebration for the weekend and is also the biggest opportunity for community engagement,” Justin Brookhart, BLINK’s executive director, told Spectrum News in June.

An example of a BLINK Parade float used during 2019. (Photo courtesy of BLINK)

To produce this year’s parade, BLINK partnered with ish — a Cincinnati-based community engagement organization that centers Jewish arts, culture and traditions. 

The theme of this year’s parade is, “Together: a constellation of shared cultures and unique identities; we illuminate joy through creative expression.”

To become part of the parade, prospective entries had to submit an application. Organizers wanted proposals that celebrate the unique attributes, symbols, or cultural traditions of a specific heritage or community.

Organizers settled on 85 entries for the parade. They're all using light as a key element of the design.

“We wanted the parade to showcase the incredible diversity and creativity of our region — from individual torchbearers to cultural heritage performance groups and more,” said Krulewitch-Browne, who worked on BLINK in both 2017 and 2019 while working with ArtWorks. She helped produce the parade in 2019.

Spots in the BLINK Parade were open to pretty much anyone. As part of their application, they were free to let their mind run wild.

In the past, ideas have ranged from traditional-looking floats to groups of people in glowing costumes dancing the entire time. Some artists have built a sculpture or light installation and use the parade to showcase it.

Some participants choose to sing or play music. Others take a more straightforward walk-and-wave approach.

While design requirements were open-ended, there were a few restrictions. For instance, all displays had to be human powered. Things like bikes or skateboards are OK, but they aren’t allowing any vehicles with a motor.

Displays also couldn’t be any taller than 12 feet because of the traffic lights around the parade route.

In the end, the lineup features a parade of nations, woodland creatures, constellations, light up marching bands, children, elders, dance groups, larger-than-life sized puppets and kinetic sculptures," Krulewitch-Browne said.

“And of course, a wacky, weird glimpse at Future City inhabitants."

For the first time, the parade features local Torchbearers, nominated by the community, that will carry glowing BLINK torches. A selection committee picked 10 torchbearers. 

Among them are former local meteorologist and cancer survivor Sherry Hughes, Film Cincinnati Executive Director Kristen Schlotmann and William Davis, a Fairfield High School student battling leukemia.

Road closures for the BLINK Parade

• Fifth Street — closed between Central Avenue and Pike Street

• Broadway — closed between Fourth Street and Sixth Street

• Sycamore Street — closed between Sixth Street and Fourth Street (garage access maintained from Sixth Street)

• Main Street — closed between Fourth Street and Sixth Street

• Walnut Street — closed between Sixth Street and Fourth Street (garage access maintained from Sixth Street)

• Vine Street — closed between Fourth Street and Sixth Street (hotel access maintained from Fourth Street)

• Race Street — closed between Sixth Street and Fourth Street (garage access maintained from Fourth Street)

• Elm Street — closed between Fourth Street and Sixth Street

More details and a full listing of groups taking part in the parade are available at blinkcincinnati.com.