The Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce (NKY Chamber) will host Eggs ‘N Issues: BLINK a Festival of Light and Art Tuesday, Oct. 15, from 7:30-9 a.m. at Receptions Banquet and Conference Center – South, located at 1379 Donaldson Road in Erlanger.
Hundreds of artists will light up Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky Oct. 17-20 for BLINK. The nation’s largest light, art, and projection mapping experience will return with event zones in Findlay Market, Over the Rhine, Downtown, The Banks, Covington, and Newport.
President and CEO of meetNKY Julie Kirkpatrick will moderate the discussion with scheduled speakers providing a glimpse into what to watch out for this year and how the event shines a spotlight on the Northern Kentucky region and the impacts it will have on the local economy.
Scheduled Speakers include:
• Molly Berrens , President of Spotted Yeti Media, graduated from Ohio University and began her career in New York City, working for renowned journalist, Linda Ellerbee. She also spent time working at BMW of North America before moving to a multimedia event company in Columbus. She moved back home in 2012 to Cincinnati and founded Spotted Yeti, a video marketing agency participating in this year’s BLINK. Berrens is a 2022 Business Courier Forty Under 40 honoree, is a graduate of Leadership Northern Kentucky, and more.
• Justin Brookhart , Executive Director of BLINK, brings more than 15 years of experience in private sector and nonprofit leadership in arts and culture and took on the leadership role of BLINK event planning in 2022. Before moving to Cincinnati for this position, he was working in Austin, Texas, where he had several roles including Vice President of Operations for the Better Business Bureau of Central Texas. An alum from the University of New Orleans and the University of Texas at Austin, he has merged his passion for supporting the arts and his business background to help build BLINK to what it is today.
• Mayor Tom Guidugli , City of Newport, is a Northern Kentucky University graduate who began his term as mayor in 2021, previously spending time as vice mayor between 2011 to 2014 and again from 2017 to 2018. He has been employed with Local 5 Stagehands for more than two decades and served as the Business Representative for the Cincinnati chapter.
• Vice Mayor Ron Washington , City of Covington, is a retired law enforcement officer and was the first African-American officer to serve in Florence, Kentucky. He’s an advocate in fighting against heroin and other opiate addiction around the region and continues to maintain a close relationship with Covington schools – where he once attended – and regularly announces at all of the Lady Bulldogs basketball home games. He was elected to the Covington Board of Commissioners in 2020 and re-elected in 2022.
“Since the first iteration of BLINK in 2017, the event has become a beacon of light for the region,” said Brent Cooper, President and CEO of the NKY Chamber. “The attraction has grown over the years, now helping to bring in more than two million people from all over the region and country for an unforgettable art experience that spans both sides of the Ohio River. Creatives, local artists, supporters, and art enthusiasts will connect and come together through this illuminating experience. You won’t want to miss this enlightening conversation about this year’s BLINK and how Northern Kentucky will have an opportunity to shine creatively and economically.”
Eggs ‘N Issues: BLINK a Festival of Light and Art will begin with attendee check-in, breakfast and networking from 7:30 to 7:55 a.m. The keynote presentation and audience Q&A session will follow until 9 a.m. Registration is $30 for NKY Chamber members and $50 for future members. The NKYP rate is $20; Free with NKYP Event Pass. Pre-registration is required online at NKYChamber.com/events .
Northern Kentucky Chamber of Commerce
Featured photo from City of Covington, last year’s BLINK
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