1 00:00:00,430 --> 00:00:29,970 Good and holy God, merciful and gracious, slow to anger, bounding in love. We thank you for this time together for wonderful events like Blink that distinguish our community and set us apart. We ask that you bless this meal, the hands that prepared it, and it's in your holy name we pray, amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. 2 00:00:29,970 --> 00:00:35,990 One nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. 3 00:00:36,450 --> 00:00:39,670 Thank you, please be seated and continue your meal. 4 00:00:40,370 --> 00:00:47,370 We want to thank our sponsors today, St Elizabeth Healthcare, named the top hospital in the region by US News and World Report. 5 00:00:47,910 --> 00:00:51,510 CDs has been our loyal lunch and title sponsor for a number of years. 6 00:00:51,510 --> 00:00:54,050 We truly appreciate Carrie and the team here. 7 00:00:54,790 --> 00:00:57,210 Today's lunch and sponsor is the Melbourne Group. 8 00:00:57,210 --> 00:01:00,070 Our supporting sponsors are Alliant Insurance, 9 00:01:00,750 --> 00:01:04,630 Ideas Zone Marketing, Meet-N-K-Y, and Strauss Troy. 10 00:01:05,270 --> 00:01:08,610 Our nonprofit sponsor is Gateway Community and Technical College. 11 00:01:08,730 --> 00:01:11,310 Our growth report sponsor is DBL Law. 12 00:01:11,890 --> 00:01:15,970 Our in-kind sponsors are A&E Audio Video and Event Services, 13 00:01:16,390 --> 00:01:17,870 and Mackie Advisors. 14 00:01:18,170 --> 00:01:19,710 We want to thank them for their support. 15 00:01:19,870 --> 00:01:20,890 Let's do that at this time. 16 00:01:20,990 --> 00:01:22,330 We appreciate you very much. 17 00:01:27,190 --> 00:01:30,890 We have several elected officials in the room today. 18 00:01:30,890 --> 00:01:32,750 I'm looking for those that are here. 19 00:01:33,030 --> 00:01:37,790 We have Karim Simpson, the Covington Independent Schools Board Member. 20 00:01:38,310 --> 00:01:40,650 The Bellevue Mayor Charlie Cleese. 21 00:01:41,150 --> 00:01:42,470 Thank you for all being here. 22 00:01:42,650 --> 00:01:46,770 We also have a number of our board members in attendance today. 23 00:01:48,590 --> 00:01:52,570 If Tony Milburn, our host here today, who's our Foundation Board Chair, 24 00:01:52,790 --> 00:01:58,030 and our CBC Board Chair starting in 2027, if he's got that grin off his face, 25 00:01:58,030 --> 00:02:03,030 that you know as a result of that, but if they would all please stand and let's 26 00:02:03,030 --> 00:02:06,850 applaud our elected officials as well as our CBC board members there did it. 27 00:02:06,990 --> 00:02:07,770 Thank you all. 28 00:02:14,790 --> 00:02:15,390 Announcements. 29 00:02:15,730 --> 00:02:17,410 We have a complete lineup. 30 00:02:17,650 --> 00:02:23,290 I'm happy to say of major sponsors for the 2026 powered by partnership CBC annual dinner 31 00:02:23,290 --> 00:02:25,690 presented by St. Elizabeth Healthcare. 32 00:02:26,090 --> 00:02:31,470 We will be honoring Tom Munninghoff of Munninghoff Lang as our founder award recipient this year. 33 00:02:31,470 --> 00:02:44,630 Steve Tracy of At Work Personnel will be our Ascent Award recipient, and I'm pleased to announce today that we've added a third award this year in the memory of our fallen friend, Katie Meyer. 34 00:02:45,510 --> 00:02:54,330 As many of you know, Katie passed away this past spring, and she embodied many of the best qualities that a Coventonian could possess. 35 00:02:54,330 --> 00:03:00,410 positivity, resilience, being a great advocate for others. 36 00:03:01,190 --> 00:03:07,530 CBC will be presenting the first Katie Meyer spirit of coming to an award to Katie's family this year. 37 00:03:08,190 --> 00:03:12,290 And in the future, we'll look at candidates who emulate her abulant character. 38 00:03:13,050 --> 00:03:20,070 So that will be happening, we'll be giving out that award at the annual dinner, November 12th, at the Convention Center. 39 00:03:20,070 --> 00:03:24,190 It will truly be a special night if you haven't purchased your tickets for that event. 40 00:03:24,530 --> 00:03:27,270 I encourage you to do so today on our website. 41 00:03:27,870 --> 00:03:33,770 There is still plenty of room for golfers for our October 2nd CBC Fall Golf Social at DeVou, 42 00:03:34,090 --> 00:03:37,370 presented by Maxim Crane, registered today, if you would. 43 00:03:37,850 --> 00:03:42,310 The CBC in partnership with the Center for Great Neighborhoods, the Neighborhood Collaborative, 44 00:03:42,610 --> 00:03:48,030 and the Latonia Business Association, will be presenting a Covington Council candidate forum. 45 00:03:48,030 --> 00:03:55,550 That will be a week from Monday, Monday, September 28th, from 6 to 8 pm at the American Legion in Latonia. 46 00:03:56,210 --> 00:04:00,250 All are welcome, we'll have a brief meet and greet after the 90 minute forum. 47 00:04:00,710 --> 00:04:05,190 And thanks to our media partners, Link and KY and TBNK. 48 00:04:06,010 --> 00:04:14,490 Speaking of TBNK, we'll be staging an open house at the New Telecommunications Board of Northern Kentucky offices on Russell Street. 49 00:04:14,490 --> 00:04:18,590 Wednesday, September 30th, that'll be from three to four in the afternoon. 50 00:04:19,150 --> 00:04:26,270 We'll have some light refreshments and it'll be a good chance for you if you're a for-profit business, especially if you're a non-profit. 51 00:04:26,850 --> 00:04:31,350 To use their facilities to create videos, they have a new podcast studio. 52 00:04:31,830 --> 00:04:39,710 There are a lot of ways to help you to brand your organizations better and that is always one of the things that our members tell us that they wish they had more help in. 53 00:04:39,710 --> 00:04:47,170 So definitely utilize TBNK as a resource and join us for this event on Wednesday, September 30th. 54 00:04:47,190 --> 00:04:51,430 There will be no charge, obviously, but we would like you to register on our website 55 00:04:51,430 --> 00:04:56,450 so we know how many people do expect. Now it's time for our non-profit spotlight. 56 00:04:56,890 --> 00:05:01,370 This month's sponsored and presented by Gateway Community and Technical College. 57 00:05:01,630 --> 00:05:07,710 I'm going to ask the development director of Gateway Test Burns to come up and tell us a little 58 00:05:07,710 --> 00:05:09,830 a little bit more about what's happening with the college test. 59 00:05:10,070 --> 00:05:10,290 Welcome. 60 00:05:14,860 --> 00:05:15,500 Thank you, Pat. 61 00:05:18,990 --> 00:05:19,790 Hello everybody. 62 00:05:20,850 --> 00:05:21,730 I'm going to sit at my timer. 63 00:05:21,890 --> 00:05:23,670 I know Pat runs a tight ship here, so. 64 00:05:26,240 --> 00:05:27,280 My name is Tess Burns. 65 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:30,680 I'm the Vice Chancellor and Chief Advancement Officer 66 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:32,640 at Gateway Community and Technical College. 67 00:05:32,980 --> 00:05:35,460 And today I'm here representing the Gateway Foundation. 68 00:05:35,880 --> 00:05:37,180 But I also get to talk about Gateway 69 00:05:37,180 --> 00:05:39,020 from a very personal perspective. 70 00:05:39,660 --> 00:05:42,860 I'm a proud Gateway graduate class of 2008. 71 00:05:46,780 --> 00:05:48,700 So when we say Gateway is an anchor 72 00:05:48,700 --> 00:05:51,100 of Northern Kentucky, I know firsthand what that can mean. 73 00:05:52,020 --> 00:05:56,500 The next time a line worker restores your power, a nurse cares for someone you love, 74 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:02,220 a machine makes a critical part, or an HVAC technician keeps your business running, there's 75 00:06:02,220 --> 00:06:04,300 a good chance you're seeing the impact of Gateway. 76 00:06:07,010 --> 00:06:10,790 Our students and graduates are all around us every day throughout Northern Kentucky. 77 00:06:11,870 --> 00:06:17,750 Gateway is Northern Kentucky's only public two-year college, and today we serve more than 5,600 78 00:06:17,750 --> 00:06:20,130 students across four locations. 79 00:06:21,170 --> 00:06:25,950 Here's a number that always surprises people, nearly one in three undergraduate students 80 00:06:25,950 --> 00:06:27,950 in Northern Kentucky passes through Gateway. 81 00:06:29,490 --> 00:06:34,310 Students come to us for skilled trades, nursing and allied health, business, IT, advanced 82 00:06:34,310 --> 00:06:38,670 manufacturing, and many other programs, but the common thread is simple, Gateway takes 83 00:06:38,670 --> 00:06:41,090 local talent and connects it to local opportunity. 84 00:06:41,730 --> 00:06:44,470 And that creates real workforce capacity in Northern Kentucky. 85 00:06:46,030 --> 00:06:50,370 Last year, Gateway awarded more than 3,000 credentials, diplomas, and degrees. 86 00:06:51,110 --> 00:06:55,610 Nearly 80% of those credentials were in high demand, high wage industries. 87 00:06:56,430 --> 00:07:00,670 We're also an important pathway to four-year institutions over the most recent three-year 88 00:07:00,670 --> 00:07:05,470 period Gateway averaged over 1,000 students transferring each year to four-year colleges 89 00:07:05,470 --> 00:07:06,290 and universities. 90 00:07:06,850 --> 00:07:09,710 But my favorite number on this slide is 78%. 91 00:07:10,310 --> 00:07:16,090 Approximately 78% of Gateway graduates work right here in Boone, Campbell, Grant, and 92 00:07:16,090 --> 00:07:16,730 Kent and counties. 93 00:07:17,930 --> 00:07:22,850 So when we invest in Gateway and a Gateway student, that investment overwhelmingly stays 94 00:07:22,850 --> 00:07:23,850 right here in Northern Kentucky. 95 00:07:27,100 --> 00:07:31,540 We're also thinking about workforce pipeline much earlier. 96 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:37,240 This summer 160 high school students participated in free hands-on career camps at Gateway and 97 00:07:37,240 --> 00:07:41,980 areas like Allied Health, Automotive Technology, Manufacturing, Welding, Machining, 98 00:07:41,980 --> 00:07:47,140 plumbing and HVAC, and here's the proof that those opportunities sparked interest and passion. 99 00:07:47,820 --> 00:07:53,160 Of the students who participated in Gateway Career Camp since 2023, 42% have enrolled 100 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:55,700 a gateway by spring of 2026. 101 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:57,840 So those aren't just summer activities. 102 00:07:58,460 --> 00:08:00,060 That is workforce pipeline development. 103 00:08:01,100 --> 00:08:03,900 We're also bringing training closer to where students live. 104 00:08:05,060 --> 00:08:09,900 Welding, machining, HVAC, and industrial maintenance are now available at the Urban Metro Campus 105 00:08:09,900 --> 00:08:15,140 us right next door. That's what being responsive looks like, listening to what students and 106 00:08:15,140 --> 00:08:19,860 employers need and bringing opportunity closer to them. But behind every one of these 107 00:08:19,860 --> 00:08:21,000 numbers is a student. 108 00:08:23,460 --> 00:08:27,320 This is Kylie. Kylie participated in Gateway's dual credit utility 109 00:08:27,320 --> 00:08:32,360 line worker program while she was still in high school. Through that experience she earned 110 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:39,260 16 college credits and an industry credential before graduating. Her training counts toward 111 00:08:39,260 --> 00:08:43,220 her associate's degree and moves her closer to a career helping keep our region powered. 112 00:08:44,120 --> 00:08:46,780 And while Kayleigh's story is personal, it is not isolated. 113 00:08:47,420 --> 00:08:51,060 Last year, more than 100 high school students earned a gateway to career credential while 114 00:08:51,060 --> 00:08:52,480 they were still in high school. 115 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:56,820 That's what it looks like when we shorten the distance between education and opportunity. 116 00:08:58,540 --> 00:09:01,020 So I want to leave you with two very simple invitations. 117 00:09:01,740 --> 00:09:07,320 First comes CS, visit gateway, walk through the labs, meet our students, see these programs 118 00:09:07,320 --> 00:09:08,680 and this work happening firsthand. 119 00:09:09,580 --> 00:09:11,160 And second, partner with us. 120 00:09:11,740 --> 00:09:14,080 That could mean creating a work-based learning opportunity, 121 00:09:14,300 --> 00:09:15,860 connecting students to your profession, 122 00:09:16,340 --> 00:09:17,340 supporting a scholarship, 123 00:09:17,480 --> 00:09:19,120 or investing in high-packed programs 124 00:09:19,120 --> 00:09:20,340 through the Gateway Foundation. 125 00:09:21,260 --> 00:09:24,020 Through your generous support of Gateway, 126 00:09:24,460 --> 00:09:26,220 more students reach these opportunities 127 00:09:26,220 --> 00:09:26,960 through scholarships, 128 00:09:27,320 --> 00:09:28,460 wraparound support services, 129 00:09:28,680 --> 00:09:29,720 and investments in programs 130 00:09:29,720 --> 00:09:30,620 that make a real difference. 131 00:09:31,300 --> 00:09:33,460 There isn't one right way to engage with Gateway, 132 00:09:33,640 --> 00:09:35,040 we'd simply welcome the opportunity 133 00:09:35,040 --> 00:09:37,280 We need to help you find the connection that is right for you. 134 00:09:38,060 --> 00:09:41,220 Because together when we create opportunities for a gateway student, 135 00:09:41,660 --> 00:09:47,260 we're not only changing the trajectory of one student, we're actually strengthening all of North Kentucky. 136 00:09:48,900 --> 00:09:49,380 Thanks. 137 00:09:59,850 --> 00:10:00,630 Thank you, Tess. 138 00:10:00,870 --> 00:10:03,830 Now I want to introduce Jeremy Hardin of Hardin's growth benefits. 139 00:10:04,090 --> 00:10:09,050 He's here to talk briefly about the details of a new insurance program through the CDC offices. 140 00:10:09,490 --> 00:10:13,110 Offering GLP weight loss drugs and more affordable pricing. 141 00:10:13,110 --> 00:10:16,690 and Jeremy is also part of the new independent plan 142 00:10:16,690 --> 00:10:17,870 that we've started through the CBC. 143 00:10:18,210 --> 00:10:19,090 So Jeremy, take it away. 144 00:10:21,420 --> 00:10:22,820 Thank you Pat and Tess. 145 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:24,860 Three of my boys went through gateway. 146 00:10:25,480 --> 00:10:27,340 I'll have great jobs in the trades. 147 00:10:28,000 --> 00:10:29,480 Own their own homes for $25. 148 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:31,760 So I recommend that for anybody with the kids. 149 00:10:34,340 --> 00:10:36,460 And as Pat said, we've been working diligently 150 00:10:36,460 --> 00:10:39,540 with the CBC to create healthcare solutions 151 00:10:39,540 --> 00:10:40,320 for the members. 152 00:10:41,620 --> 00:10:47,540 This specific solution is centered around the GLP-1 drugs that have been growing in popularity 153 00:10:47,540 --> 00:10:48,640 in the United States. 154 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:56,020 So the new edge health can deliver a flexible cost-effective GLP-1, obesity and chronic 155 00:10:56,020 --> 00:11:00,620 condition solution for both either individuals or business owners. 156 00:11:00,840 --> 00:11:01,780 So it's set up two ways. 157 00:11:02,040 --> 00:11:06,440 If you are an individual looking for an access point, you simply can add a QR code on the 158 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:06,900 flyer. 159 00:11:06,900 --> 00:11:13,760 You will meet with a physician and a nurse navigator to get set up individually, or if you're a business owner looking to 160 00:11:13,760 --> 00:11:18,300 Find a more cost of effective way to bring this to your employees through the health care 161 00:11:18,300 --> 00:11:21,520 This can be done to help you help business owners 162 00:11:22,100 --> 00:11:24,220 Control their cost set up 163 00:11:24,820 --> 00:11:29,760 Cost sharing with employees in innovative ways. So if anybody would like a consult 164 00:11:30,500 --> 00:11:36,040 Set up time with me. We can go through it or you can go straight through the QR code. Appreciate your time. Thank you 165 00:11:41,660 --> 00:11:44,900 Now it's time to meet some of our newest CBC members. 166 00:11:45,960 --> 00:11:52,640 One here in particular today, our good friend Matt, if you'd stand up, Matt Anger of the graduate by Hilton, hey Matt. 167 00:11:54,780 --> 00:11:58,220 Some of you in stay standing for a minute, Matt, till we finish this segment. 168 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:02,060 But some of you may remember Matt from his sales days at the Rattleson. 169 00:12:02,240 --> 00:12:04,360 So he's been a good friend for a long time. 170 00:12:04,460 --> 00:12:09,720 And if you don't know this, the graduate by Hilton since Natti is a one of a kind hotel located in the heart 171 00:12:09,720 --> 00:12:14,000 of the UC campus, and just minutes from downtown, more than 200 guest rooms, 172 00:12:14,460 --> 00:12:17,600 more than 21,000 square feet of flexible meeting in event space. 173 00:12:18,740 --> 00:12:25,920 You know, the hotel ties into the community spirit and the UC collegiate spirit with hospitality. 174 00:12:26,560 --> 00:12:31,600 So also today we have Pam Schraout of ATA Architects. 175 00:12:31,660 --> 00:12:35,920 It's an award-winning architecture and Heritage Pam stand up back there. 176 00:12:37,700 --> 00:12:44,280 Award-winning architecture and heritage conservation firm with the half-century plus legacy, 177 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:52,160 ATA architects aspiring to get the acronym here, aspiring to create uplifting architecture, 178 00:12:52,500 --> 00:12:58,840 building trust through responsive detail and transparent collaboration and achieving excellence 179 00:12:58,840 --> 00:13:01,640 by blending innovation with proven expertise. 180 00:13:01,640 --> 00:13:07,180 So, let's, again, give the CBC warm welcome to Matt and to Pam, thank you all. 181 00:13:11,140 --> 00:13:16,160 And as you know, you're not a CBC member, I'll tackle you at the end of the luncheon today. 182 00:13:16,380 --> 00:13:22,840 So, yeah, if you're not a member, certainly, we would love to talk to you more about the benefits of being part of the CBC family. 183 00:13:23,400 --> 00:13:32,620 Now it's time for our CBC Growth Report brought to you by DBL Law, and here's Kate Christoff, Chief People Officer from DBL to introduce this segment. 184 00:13:33,160 --> 00:13:33,900 Kate, please come up. 185 00:13:33,900 --> 00:13:34,680 Good 186 00:13:46,420 --> 00:13:52,320 afternoon, I am Kate Christoff with DBL Law and at DBL being part of the Northern 187 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,320 Kentucky business community is very important to us. 188 00:13:55,880 --> 00:14:00,440 We say involve through external organizations like this and internally through our 189 00:14:00,440 --> 00:14:06,340 MADE IT series podcast that you will be able to see unlinked in. 190 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:12,480 We're excited to continue to be a part of the conversations in the community, especially 191 00:14:12,480 --> 00:14:18,080 as we see so much growth and momentum in the area, with the new bridge and many other 192 00:14:18,080 --> 00:14:23,100 developments, it's exciting to see the new business investment and opportunities in 193 00:14:23,100 --> 00:14:30,660 the region. And with that, I'd like to introduce John Sadaski, Covington's Economic Development 194 00:14:30,660 --> 00:14:33,500 Director with this month's CBC report. 195 00:14:48,220 --> 00:14:52,900 Good morning everyone, good afternoon, I should say. I want to give a quick update on two things 196 00:14:52,900 --> 00:14:58,000 happening in Covington, one that will bring a tremendous number of visitors into our 197 00:14:58,000 --> 00:14:59,820 city next month. And another 198 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:31,330 We're focused on supporting the businesses and the jobs that are here already. First, as you all are probably aware, Blink is returning October 8th through the 9th from 7 to 11 p.m. Each night, sorry, 8 through the 11th, my apologies. Well, you know, luckily somebody else is going to talk more in depth about Blink after me. So, for anyone who hasn't experienced Blink before, it is the nation's largest free public art festival bringing together projection 199 00:15:31,330 --> 00:15:34,350 in mapping, light installations, murals, and interactive art 200 00:15:34,350 --> 00:15:36,070 throughout Cincinnati and Covington. 201 00:15:36,710 --> 00:15:39,530 And in 2024, the festival attracted more than two million 202 00:15:39,530 --> 00:15:39,970 people. 203 00:15:40,830 --> 00:15:43,710 So this is an opportunity to introduce a large number 204 00:15:43,710 --> 00:15:44,790 of folks to Covington. 205 00:15:45,450 --> 00:15:49,230 And we want those folks to stay here to not only experience 206 00:15:49,230 --> 00:15:52,810 the installations, but to grab dinner, have a drink, 207 00:15:53,750 --> 00:15:56,850 frequent our businesses, spend money here. 208 00:15:57,170 --> 00:15:59,250 So we really want to welcome them. 209 00:15:59,250 --> 00:16:06,110 So one of the things that we're doing is to help establish that environment is we are establishing 210 00:16:06,110 --> 00:16:12,270 three entertainment destination centers, otherwise known as EDCs throughout Blink. 211 00:16:12,750 --> 00:16:13,650 So what does that mean? 212 00:16:14,230 --> 00:16:19,170 From 7 to 11, each night of Blink, we'll have three designated areas of downtown where 213 00:16:19,170 --> 00:16:26,050 participating bars and restaurants can serve alcohol and specially marked cups with our 214 00:16:26,050 --> 00:16:32,230 awesome new uncover Covington branding and customers can take those drinks outside and 215 00:16:32,230 --> 00:16:35,250 walk within the boundaries of the CD of the EDCs. 216 00:16:36,050 --> 00:16:40,670 So the three areas include Court Street and Park Place in the Roblin Point District, 217 00:16:41,490 --> 00:16:48,230 the area north of fifth street between Madison and Scott and to fourth street, and between 218 00:16:48,230 --> 00:16:52,190 Pike and Seventh Street between Washington and Madison. 219 00:16:52,190 --> 00:16:58,750 There are currently 18 participating Covington businesses, including places like Braxton, Covington 220 00:16:58,750 --> 00:17:03,590 Yard, Smoke Justice, Wendell Distillery, Ripple Wine Bar and others. 221 00:17:04,450 --> 00:17:09,030 So we want to make downtown feel welcoming and really create that festive environment. 222 00:17:10,110 --> 00:17:13,310 Along with that, there are some street closures to be aware of. 223 00:17:13,750 --> 00:17:19,850 These include portions of Madison Avenue, Scott Street, Third and Fourth, Pike and Seventh. 224 00:17:19,850 --> 00:17:25,350 So the areas around those EDCs I mentioned and several of our alleys, but Fifth Street and Green 225 00:17:25,350 --> 00:17:29,690 of Street will remain open to vehicle traffic. I'm sure you guys are tired of hearing about traffic 226 00:17:29,690 --> 00:17:33,110 and closures and stuff like that. I'm sorry. I should not have you and included that. 227 00:17:34,070 --> 00:17:38,770 The robling bridge will also be closed to vehicles but it'll be open to pedestrians. 228 00:17:39,630 --> 00:17:43,850 So folks will still be able to walk between Cincinnati and Covington for the festival. 229 00:17:45,150 --> 00:17:50,770 Second, I want to update you all on an initiative we had earlier this month with our local 230 00:17:50,770 --> 00:17:56,130 manufacturing community, which we dubbed the Manufacturing Roundtable. 231 00:17:56,930 --> 00:18:01,810 So Mayor Washington and our, myself and our economic development team met with our local 232 00:18:01,810 --> 00:18:11,350 manufacturers at Atkins and Pierce for Roundtable to discuss workforce, cost of doing business, 233 00:18:12,150 --> 00:18:14,390 any issues that they may be having in Covington. 234 00:18:15,050 --> 00:18:17,770 It's the first time we did a roundtable like this in several years. 235 00:18:18,450 --> 00:18:19,550 So there was a lot to impact. 236 00:18:20,810 --> 00:18:23,610 As you may know, manufacturing is one of our target industries. 237 00:18:24,130 --> 00:18:27,950 We have some great manufacturers here located in Covington. 238 00:18:28,690 --> 00:18:30,930 But the purpose of this roundtable was just to listen. 239 00:18:32,570 --> 00:18:34,550 We had represented us from Atkins and Pierce. 240 00:18:35,190 --> 00:18:39,310 In the Honeycomb, we were Esco and Iofina Chemical sitting at the table 241 00:18:39,310 --> 00:18:43,970 alongside workforce and economic development partners, including Gateway Community and Technical 242 00:18:43,970 --> 00:18:50,710 College. Thank you. Northern Kentucky works. The Northern Kentucky Chamber. Northern Kentucky 243 00:18:50,710 --> 00:18:56,930 area development districts and of course our good friend Pat Furrier with the Covington 244 00:18:56,930 --> 00:19:05,510 Business Council. And one theme came was very clear workforce. So our manufacturers are thinking 245 00:19:05,510 --> 00:19:08,590 about how to find employees, how to retain them, what skills 246 00:19:08,590 --> 00:19:11,690 the employees need, and how we create a stronger pipeline 247 00:19:11,690 --> 00:19:14,490 of people interested in manufacturing careers. 248 00:19:15,850 --> 00:19:18,490 So having our partners at the table is really helpful 249 00:19:18,490 --> 00:19:22,530 so that they can get information directly from these folks. 250 00:19:23,630 --> 00:19:26,750 So in addition to that, we talked about housing affordability, 251 00:19:26,990 --> 00:19:29,950 transportation, and it was a good way to brainstorm ways 252 00:19:29,950 --> 00:19:33,290 to just build stronger connections within the community 253 00:19:33,290 --> 00:19:34,410 to solve those issues. 254 00:19:34,410 --> 00:19:39,370 So a big part of my job is taking care of our businesses, making sure that they're heard 255 00:19:40,230 --> 00:19:43,370 and trying to connect them to the right people to help solve their issues. 256 00:19:46,560 --> 00:19:53,640 And we do look forward to continuing these round tables throughout the next 12 months 257 00:19:54,180 --> 00:19:56,020 across our various industry sectors. 258 00:19:57,220 --> 00:20:00,900 So more to come on that, looking forward to sharing those types of updates 259 00:20:00,900 --> 00:20:02,920 with you as it relates to our different industries. 260 00:20:03,660 --> 00:20:05,080 So this concludes the city update. 261 00:20:05,080 --> 00:20:05,900 Thank you. 262 00:20:11,990 --> 00:20:12,590 Thanks, John. 263 00:20:13,310 --> 00:20:32,250 The whole idea behind these round tables began several years ago when I began talking to Mayor Washington about a lot of the great things that have been done in the past that Chuck Shepard did when he was the mayor and he would talk to some of the leading industries and as we talk to the city, it seemed to make more sense to look at these industry clusters, which we've done. 264 00:20:32,250 --> 00:20:37,410 We've talked to the life science industry, creative services, I'm missing the other one, John, I can't remember. 265 00:20:37,810 --> 00:20:43,190 There's another industry group that we involve, but manufacturing is obviously very critical. 266 00:20:43,530 --> 00:20:51,870 So, these are great sessions, the businesses felt listened to, having the mayor there is a very important thing. 267 00:20:52,190 --> 00:20:58,850 So, it's been very good and the CBC was very happy to be instrumental in helping to put this together. 268 00:20:58,850 --> 00:21:04,830 So I appreciate working with John and his team on this, so now it's time for our program. 269 00:21:05,070 --> 00:21:09,470 I'm going to ask Tony Mulburn, our host to get up here and tell us about our great speakers today. 270 00:21:09,630 --> 00:21:10,810 We know you're excited about this. 271 00:21:10,930 --> 00:21:11,790 Tony, thanks for hosting. 272 00:21:11,930 --> 00:21:12,950 It's great host as always. 273 00:21:20,190 --> 00:21:20,930 Thank you, Pat. 274 00:21:22,270 --> 00:21:23,710 A little bit more about Blank. 275 00:21:24,090 --> 00:21:26,310 John kind of introduced a subject, but we'll keep going. 276 00:21:26,950 --> 00:21:32,590 Blank continues to set the standard for the largest light-based art festival in the United States. 277 00:21:32,590 --> 00:21:35,910 and is second only to vivid Sydney in Australia, 278 00:21:35,910 --> 00:21:37,890 which is pretty cool for our area, I think. 279 00:21:38,650 --> 00:21:44,690 The 2024 Festival generated an impressive $205 million 280 00:21:45,270 --> 00:21:49,410 in direct economic impact and attracted more than 2 million 281 00:21:49,410 --> 00:21:50,110 attendees. 282 00:21:50,930 --> 00:21:54,730 Artists and visitors will come from about a dozen countries 283 00:21:55,130 --> 00:21:57,550 and at least half of the U.S. states. 284 00:21:58,310 --> 00:22:01,230 Today we'll learn about how Covington will be impacted 285 00:22:01,230 --> 00:22:07,170 by this year's show. We'll also hear about a project from a nationally known muralist who calls 286 00:22:07,170 --> 00:22:14,570 Covington home. To kick things off, let's give a warm welcome to Kentucky Native and CEO and 287 00:22:14,570 --> 00:22:17,890 Executive Director of Blank Leslie Mooney. 288 00:22:26,130 --> 00:22:28,250 Well I appreciate that Pat threw in there that I was 289 00:22:28,250 --> 00:22:35,430 a Kentucky native and Tony thanks for mentioning that. That is true, proud Kentucky colonel and very 290 00:22:35,430 --> 00:22:40,690 happy to be here. Thank you so much for having me today to talk a little bit more about Blink 291 00:22:40,690 --> 00:22:46,290 and what we can expect this year. I do want to start with just a quick video, so bear with me, 292 00:22:46,450 --> 00:22:51,170 but as you all know, seeing Blink and being a part of it is something that is hard to put into words, 293 00:22:51,370 --> 00:22:52,830 so let's get in the mood here. 294 00:24:14,120 --> 00:24:17,680 It gives me chills. So that was obviously our highlight reel from two 295 00:24:17,680 --> 00:24:23,980 years ago, the Blink Edition in 2024. And so I'm going to get into, in about the second half of my 296 00:24:23,980 --> 00:24:29,080 presentation my time with you all some specifics about what's to come this year in just three weeks from 297 00:24:29,080 --> 00:24:35,080 today and also what specifically is coming to Covington you'll get to see a sneak peek of some of my 298 00:24:35,080 --> 00:24:39,700 favorite and some of what I think are going to be the most spectacular light based installations preview 299 00:24:39,700 --> 00:24:44,200 of some of the muralists who are going to be over on this side of the river but first I want to 300 00:24:44,200 --> 00:24:49,020 back up just a little bit because I've got a little extra time to just talk about the origins of 301 00:24:49,020 --> 00:24:56,000 link and why we do this. Why do we go to such great links to put on the largest light based 302 00:24:56,000 --> 00:25:00,520 art festival in the US second only to vivid Sydney, which has been around considerably longer 303 00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:07,080 time than we have. The stats have been mentioned already a couple of times today. Over 2 million 304 00:25:07,080 --> 00:25:13,460 people came down in attendance over the course of just four nights in 2024. Pat mentioned 305 00:25:13,460 --> 00:25:20,860 And Tony, the direct economic impact of being well over $200 million, that's represented 306 00:25:20,860 --> 00:25:25,660 of course in hotel stays, but also in folks spending money in restaurants, the labor 307 00:25:25,660 --> 00:25:28,840 that we employ locally and that we bring in. 308 00:25:29,160 --> 00:25:34,740 And then there, of course, staying and eating and buying things, all that kind of good stuff. 309 00:25:35,340 --> 00:25:39,700 It is and will remain to be 100% free. 310 00:25:39,700 --> 00:25:45,600 And that really is something that I think it's missed sometimes when we're talking about 311 00:25:45,600 --> 00:25:51,720 particularly the economic impact, the fact that, and obviously it contributes to how many folks come down, 312 00:25:52,380 --> 00:25:58,980 and having over two million people over the course of four nights and having that be something that is free and accessible 313 00:25:58,980 --> 00:26:05,120 and open to everyone is a cornerstone of why Blink exists and what the original intent was. 314 00:26:05,120 --> 00:26:28,260 And we talked about it earlier, I talked about with somebody that's here today, and I certainly have had this experience my own self, just coming down as an audience and a participant to blink is that you kind of stand in one spot and look at a projection or interacting with the light based installation or looking at a mural and you look around to see you around and it's really, I mean, it's a pretty impressive mix of folks that you're surrounded by. 315 00:26:28,260 --> 00:26:35,220 It's kind of a sea of humanity and reflects all of us and coming to an greater Cincinnati and of course folks coming in 316 00:26:35,220 --> 00:26:40,700 From all types of different places and so being free and accessible and having this event 317 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:45,960 Continue to be that is it is a big part of the ethos of of what we're doing here 318 00:26:46,760 --> 00:26:48,440 over 40 city blocks 319 00:26:49,280 --> 00:26:52,260 Well, that says three cities that was in that was in 2024 320 00:26:52,260 --> 00:26:54,260 We're not going back to Newport in 26 321 00:26:54,260 --> 00:26:59,540 six, mostly because the bridge is down, but two cities, four days, this is obviously 322 00:26:59,540 --> 00:27:06,940 coming up on its fifth iteration, so 2017, 2019, 22, 24, and now 20, 26. 323 00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:13,220 And then the artist's stats, I think, also can sometimes go underplayed, but the fact 324 00:27:13,220 --> 00:27:19,860 that we have now consistently two times in a row had nearly 1,000 artists from all over 325 00:27:19,860 --> 00:27:24,800 the world to apply to be a part of one of the three categories. I cannot underscore how 326 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:31,120 more how competitive obviously that makes it and then therefore the quality of the art 327 00:27:31,120 --> 00:27:34,780 that whether that's in the projection mapping category, the mural category, or the light 328 00:27:34,780 --> 00:27:40,680 based installation category is really outstanding. And so we spend months going through very 329 00:27:40,680 --> 00:27:46,700 diligently with a curator advisory committee. I think cream maybe, or anyway, cream Simpson 330 00:27:46,700 --> 00:27:54,580 was a part of that committee this time around and so it takes us a good four or five months 331 00:27:54,580 --> 00:27:58,460 just to come through all of the artist applications that we get and we've had many folks that have 332 00:27:58,460 --> 00:28:04,300 applied multiple times and hopefully will continue to and you know until they can possibly 333 00:28:04,300 --> 00:28:10,040 get in but yeah I mean even for the mural specifically this year we had almost about 300 applicants 334 00:28:10,040 --> 00:28:15,220 and we only have about 20 murals that we're doing this time around so it tells you kind of 335 00:28:15,220 --> 00:28:17,320 how, you know, the sheer competitiveness. 336 00:28:17,520 --> 00:28:22,040 And so that is also raised the profile of Blink 337 00:28:22,040 --> 00:28:23,880 across the world, really. 338 00:28:24,100 --> 00:28:26,860 I had the great pleasure through partnerships 339 00:28:26,860 --> 00:28:32,460 with me in KY and B in KY and Visit Fancy and Ready. 340 00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:35,700 We took a trip over to Paris and London actually 341 00:28:35,700 --> 00:28:37,300 in the spring, this past March, 342 00:28:37,580 --> 00:28:41,440 to talk to travel influencers, folks 343 00:28:41,440 --> 00:28:43,460 who were looking potentially at bringing jobs, 344 00:28:43,460 --> 00:28:48,940 jobs bringing manufacturing specifically to Ohio and to Cincinnati or to the northern 345 00:28:48,940 --> 00:28:55,600 Kentucky side and using Blink as an example of what we accomplish here. 346 00:28:55,840 --> 00:29:00,320 I mean, and everybody I talked to him, so we got to do lots of artists visits and we brought 347 00:29:00,320 --> 00:29:01,220 folks in. 348 00:29:02,320 --> 00:29:06,160 And they're so impressed, you know, not just with Blink, but with this region and the fact 349 00:29:06,160 --> 00:29:11,280 that we could do something as bold and big as this and what this has become. 350 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:15,140 And it's no small feat by any stretch of the imagination. 351 00:29:15,420 --> 00:29:18,960 And so I just think that we should take a lot of pride, those of you in this room, 352 00:29:19,380 --> 00:29:21,520 many of you who have, even if you've just attended. 353 00:29:22,620 --> 00:29:27,000 My goal, my hope in being the Executive Director of Blink is that everyone feels 354 00:29:27,000 --> 00:29:32,040 sense of ownership and a sense of pride in what these two cities, this community, 355 00:29:32,220 --> 00:29:34,040 has put together and is able to accomplish. 356 00:29:35,920 --> 00:29:42,260 So why? That's a question we've all kind of asked ourselves because this is about an 357 00:29:42,260 --> 00:29:46,280 eight million dollar endeavor every time it happens, right? And it's totally free. 358 00:29:46,500 --> 00:29:54,240 So unlike Coachella or South by Southwest, or even Burning Man, you know, think of these 359 00:29:54,240 --> 00:29:59,620 big gigantic festivals, whether it's music, or it's tech, or whatever, a lot of those places 360 00:29:59,620 --> 00:29:59,980 This is your- 361 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:22,440 You're paying $1,000, $2,000, right, just to attend and go for a long weekend type of thing, right? That's not the model that Blink has. And so we rely on corporate partners, some civic organizations, city governments, that kind of thing, but lots of partners to make this available. And so it's, you know, that in and of itself, right, is a heavy lift. 362 00:30:24,800 --> 00:30:29,640 But with the same thing, am I creative executive partner, Andrew Salisbury, 363 00:30:29,640 --> 00:30:35,400 and Agar is very fond of saying that this region, Cincinnati, North of Kentucky, we're 364 00:30:35,400 --> 00:30:38,420 really good at talking about what we used to be good at, right? 365 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:44,380 So whether that's the Reds and being the first, or even like now we have the longest running 366 00:30:44,380 --> 00:30:49,240 in the second biggest October fest, which is awesome, but like what are we looking at towards 367 00:30:49,240 --> 00:30:49,720 the future? 368 00:30:50,040 --> 00:30:55,180 And so, when folks got together, kind of building on the success of luminosity prior to 369 00:30:55,180 --> 00:30:59,600 Blink and the projections on music hall and seeing the crowds down there and seeing how 370 00:30:59,600 --> 00:31:04,620 it brought people together and brought people out through art, right through that common 371 00:31:04,620 --> 00:31:10,460 denominator building on that and looking at, okay, how do we want to portray ourselves 372 00:31:10,910 --> 00:31:16,440 in the future and to the outside, not only to ourselves, which is also really important, but 373 00:31:16,440 --> 00:31:22,380 also to folks outside of Cincinnati so that we're attracting tourism, yes, but also young 374 00:31:22,380 --> 00:31:29,380 people who want to move here or young people who are here at NKU or at UCCCM or DAP, like Chase 375 00:31:29,380 --> 00:31:35,880 who came and stayed, right? And like found that he could have a home here as an artist and 376 00:31:35,880 --> 00:31:42,640 build that life. And so, Blink is a big part of that too. I mean, that's a goal that we have. 377 00:31:42,740 --> 00:31:48,000 We're basically painting the picture of who we want to be and we're really building into that every 378 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:52,500 every time we do blank. I also want to say it's a very intentional I mean the reason 379 00:31:52,500 --> 00:31:57,700 that my business card says I work at the Cincinnati Regional Chamber because I do and that is 380 00:31:57,700 --> 00:32:03,800 specifically deliberate that blank is housed out of the chamber. It is an economic development 381 00:32:03,800 --> 00:32:10,140 tool as well certainly during the festival itself but also building on the infrastructure that we 382 00:32:10,140 --> 00:32:16,860 already have and so for instance to speak specifically to one piece of blank the mural program in the 383 00:32:16,860 --> 00:32:22,140 This is definitely market area where prior to this year our murals are mostly concentrated. 384 00:32:23,420 --> 00:32:30,720 There has, we have seen we can foot traffic in that area, particularly increase by 30% 385 00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:33,340 when there are more murals in the area. 386 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:38,140 So that was a stated objective prior to 2017. 387 00:32:38,680 --> 00:32:42,320 I think it's fascinating to think about how all of this came together, right, like projection 388 00:32:42,320 --> 00:32:46,140 mapping in and of itself could have been the thing, it could have been like that's what 389 00:32:46,140 --> 00:32:50,220 link is we're going to do luminosity but we're going to do it on 10 buildings or it could 390 00:32:50,220 --> 00:32:53,680 have been we're just going to do light based culture and that's really cool we can bring 391 00:32:53,680 --> 00:32:59,020 that in and that would be fun put it up temporarily and then take it out or we could have done 392 00:32:59,020 --> 00:33:03,200 we're just going to mural festival we'll do it annually or by annually and we'll have 393 00:33:03,200 --> 00:33:08,220 lots of new murals but the the power is it be the folks that preceded me so we're going to do all 394 00:33:08,220 --> 00:33:14,200 three at once and it's going to be awesome and it has and the mural part is really the lead behind 395 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:20,860 It's what we all, it's the daily reminders of the Blink Festival, the investment that has been made. 396 00:33:21,340 --> 00:33:27,760 Sometimes we go back to those murals that have been painted as part of Blink to project upon them to make them come to life, right? 397 00:33:27,880 --> 00:33:35,700 Those are some of the most fan favorites, I would say, of the Blink Festival is when the murals, when the birds on the Martha mural, 398 00:33:35,980 --> 00:33:40,280 which is going to be featured again this year, come to life, they come off the wall. 399 00:33:40,280 --> 00:33:55,680 Seeing that is really impactful and moving and something that Cincinnati frankly blink is I think the it's maybe not the only but it's certainly the premiere light based festival and projection mapping festival where we actually project on two murals. 400 00:33:56,320 --> 00:34:00,680 And so that's getting a little bit wonky for this group but but it's a special thing. 401 00:34:00,680 --> 00:34:06,380 And so anyway, so coming back to those murals and illuminating them and projecting upon them, 402 00:34:06,540 --> 00:34:10,680 making them come to life is also a big key part of what we do and why we do this. 403 00:34:10,960 --> 00:34:15,800 I mentioned Finley Market, the shed, and the area around the shed, obviously I've seen lots of 404 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:21,980 development, not just obviously as a result of murals from Blink, but lots of partners putting in 405 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:27,700 time and effort and resources up there, but it all is very intentional in working together 406 00:34:27,700 --> 00:34:30,280 other to increase the foot traffic and the duration. 407 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:33,120 So this is the number of murals sort of around the market 408 00:34:33,120 --> 00:34:35,140 shed that we started in 2017. 409 00:34:35,720 --> 00:34:40,080 Then we added another 12 or 14 in 2019, continued to add 410 00:34:40,080 --> 00:34:42,760 and move a little north in 22. 411 00:34:43,180 --> 00:34:44,940 And then the blue markers are 24. 412 00:34:45,140 --> 00:34:47,900 So at this point, we have, I think about 80 murals 413 00:34:47,900 --> 00:34:50,660 up in that area, there might be a few others scattered down 414 00:34:50,660 --> 00:34:52,100 in the central business district. 415 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:55,920 And this is just a small sampling of some of those murals 416 00:34:55,920 --> 00:35:00,240 that are still in existence. There's only a handful that may have been painted over or something 417 00:35:00,240 --> 00:35:07,280 demolished. And so we're excited to add another 10 permanent bleak murals in that area around 418 00:35:07,280 --> 00:35:11,900 Finley Market, which we're now going to start calling Market Walls District. And these are just 419 00:35:11,900 --> 00:35:16,180 some of the artists. This are examples of the type of work that they do that will be up in the 420 00:35:16,180 --> 00:35:23,920 market district. And then we also this year is brand new. We will have 10 new murals going up 421 00:35:23,920 --> 00:35:28,380 in Covington and so we're calling this the Madison Walls District but to 422 00:35:28,380 --> 00:35:33,080 collectively these will be the Blink Walls and I think the intention is then to 423 00:35:33,080 --> 00:35:36,560 add to continue just like in the Market Walls District to add and to 424 00:35:36,560 --> 00:35:42,700 contribute to the tapestry, the gallery if you will, of murals here on the Kentucky 425 00:35:42,700 --> 00:35:46,400 side of the river as well. So these are three examples of three different 426 00:35:46,400 --> 00:35:50,800 artists who will be painting murals over here on the Covington side. I think I have 427 00:35:50,800 --> 00:35:56,760 a little map here. So this is a little hard to see. This is not our pretty finalized map 428 00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:01,820 that we printed. Hinton, that will be made public a week from today. So two weeks out 429 00:36:01,820 --> 00:36:06,520 from the start of Blink, we will have on our website on the Arts Way map. And in print 430 00:36:07,300 --> 00:36:11,440 through the inquire, the inquire is going to do another full page spread that will have the 431 00:36:11,440 --> 00:36:16,180 Blink map. But this is our internal working map to show you where you see the letter red with 432 00:36:16,180 --> 00:36:18,620 the painter's pallets, that's where murals are going up. 433 00:36:19,320 --> 00:36:23,440 When you see the things that look kind of like orange slices, those are light-based 434 00:36:23,440 --> 00:36:24,100 installations. 435 00:36:24,820 --> 00:36:29,300 The black tick marks are projection mapping sites over on this side of the river. 436 00:36:29,800 --> 00:36:34,180 The yellow spots are hospitality zones, where we'll have some food and beverage, but as 437 00:36:34,180 --> 00:36:40,020 John mentioned, there's going to be significant street closures for the EDC areas, which I think 438 00:36:40,020 --> 00:36:45,140 is going to make the attendance experience very exciting and very cool and fun. 439 00:36:46,340 --> 00:36:50,180 And so I think I've been telling people that Covington is really the zone to come 440 00:36:50,180 --> 00:36:50,420 to. 441 00:36:51,840 --> 00:36:55,120 Don't tell anybody I said that, but that I think is true. 442 00:36:55,280 --> 00:36:58,160 I think it'll be great over here, it'll be a wonderful experience. 443 00:36:58,700 --> 00:37:04,500 One of the largest, maybe the largest, actually light based installation will be at the intersection 444 00:37:04,500 --> 00:37:11,220 of Park and Court and it's going to be spectacular, great for pictures and video if you want to come 445 00:37:11,220 --> 00:37:17,880 down and take the family out. So that's just a kind of snapshot of where all Blink will be on this 446 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:25,000 side of the river. And now I would like to invite Chase Melinda's up to say a few words. Chase 447 00:37:25,000 --> 00:37:30,560 is going to, is actually started as you can see. He's in his work attire. He came straight from 448 00:37:30,560 --> 00:37:36,440 The new city city hall building over across the street, and so chase and say a few words for us. 449 00:37:42,040 --> 00:37:48,640 I don't know what words I'm supposed to say but thanks for having me here. I see some friendly faces out there that I know. 450 00:37:49,780 --> 00:37:56,980 I've been in Covington essentially since 2008 since I moved for grad school out here except for one year, but I lived all over the city. 451 00:37:58,320 --> 00:38:00,420 Yeah, I don't know anything else 452 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:07,240 Okay. Say it with me up here. So, talk to us a little bit. I know this picture, for instance, 453 00:38:07,420 --> 00:38:13,480 is in Miami, correct, at Winwood Walls. So, talk to us a little bit about, and, you know, how 454 00:38:13,480 --> 00:38:17,600 you got into this, what this has meant for your career, and then also, like, being a part of 455 00:38:17,600 --> 00:38:22,620 Blink this year, or we should be expect to see a similar style and design, and what kind of 456 00:38:22,620 --> 00:38:29,740 are you getting into this time? Yeah. So, this is, it's a condo residence in Winwood, separate 457 00:38:29,740 --> 00:38:35,160 in Winwood walls but it's still part of Winwood neighborhood which is like an example of what 458 00:38:35,160 --> 00:38:39,640 murals and art do if you've ever been to Winwood it's like crazy people just walk around looking at 459 00:38:39,640 --> 00:38:45,220 art all the new development there essentially comes with art like attached to it you can't build 460 00:38:45,220 --> 00:38:49,580 there really I don't know if this is like a rule but it seems like you can't build there unless 461 00:38:49,580 --> 00:38:55,620 you're attaching murals or attaching art to the concept yeah if you're not familiar with my work 462 00:38:55,620 --> 00:39:01,420 That's pretty good example geometric hard line kind of rhythm and pattern kind of stuff 463 00:39:02,060 --> 00:39:07,740 It will be similar at City Hall jumping off of Madison designs colors that they have going on 464 00:39:08,500 --> 00:39:12,740 Inside so it won't be like that color, but it will be visually kind of similar 465 00:39:15,820 --> 00:39:22,840 Being a part of blank. This is your first time correct first time for my work for your work 466 00:39:22,840 --> 00:39:27,820 So yeah, so talk to us a little bit about how that is feeling. Are you 467 00:39:28,720 --> 00:39:36,660 Excited obviously. I think you probably are in your process and like how you've decided to kind of do specifically what you're doing 468 00:39:36,660 --> 00:39:37,800 Like talk a little bit about that 469 00:39:38,640 --> 00:39:40,140 Yeah, it's a huge honor 470 00:39:40,620 --> 00:39:47,360 I think most local artists want to be involved with Blink in the scale of Blink is pretty impressive 471 00:39:47,360 --> 00:39:54,060 of that slide that you showed of the artist that are going to be here, like, if you're 472 00:39:54,060 --> 00:39:56,940 not an artist, maybe you are, but like that slide is huge. 473 00:39:57,180 --> 00:39:59,600 Those artists are like gigantic, gigantic artists. 474 00:39:59,820 --> 00:40:05,960 So to be involved with a project in a festival included with alongside them is pretty, pretty 475 00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:10,460 awesome and I'm super honored and sorry if you can't tell. 476 00:40:10,660 --> 00:40:12,480 I'm not used to speaking in front of people. 477 00:40:13,420 --> 00:40:15,080 My teaching days are long gone. 478 00:40:15,080 --> 00:40:18,800 So yeah, and I'm super happy to be in Covington. 479 00:40:19,000 --> 00:40:19,620 It's like even better. 480 00:40:19,720 --> 00:40:21,960 You know, I'm a block away or a couple of blocks away 481 00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:23,020 from city hall. 482 00:40:23,180 --> 00:40:24,020 And it's awesome. 483 00:40:24,300 --> 00:40:25,620 I drive down the street all the time. 484 00:40:25,800 --> 00:40:27,620 So I'll constantly see that that wall. 485 00:40:28,000 --> 00:40:29,640 And yeah, I'm just super excited. 486 00:40:30,460 --> 00:40:30,900 Great. 487 00:40:31,320 --> 00:40:32,200 I've one last question. 488 00:40:32,480 --> 00:40:36,880 What made you stay, as I'm mostly just curious, personally, 489 00:40:37,040 --> 00:40:39,700 in Covington, in the Cincinnati area, 490 00:40:39,700 --> 00:40:41,580 after you finished up your? 491 00:40:42,120 --> 00:40:44,500 I can give you a long version or a short version. 492 00:40:44,500 --> 00:40:48,580 And yes, the idea was to go to grad school and move to LA. 493 00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:51,380 And then I almost moved to LA two different times. 494 00:40:52,660 --> 00:40:55,940 And then some relationships have happened. 495 00:40:56,460 --> 00:41:01,500 And then also, and I just love Coventon, to be honest. 496 00:41:02,500 --> 00:41:05,560 I never pay for park games, for reds games, or bangles games. 497 00:41:05,960 --> 00:41:07,440 I walk all over the city. 498 00:41:08,120 --> 00:41:09,020 I have a studio. 499 00:41:09,220 --> 00:41:09,800 I have a house. 500 00:41:10,860 --> 00:41:13,880 There's lots of artwork available, our opportunities. 501 00:41:13,880 --> 00:41:23,080 So, eventually, a short answer was relationships, eventually, like it's a place that I have come to grove with, and I saw opportunity. 502 00:41:23,400 --> 00:41:30,280 There's a lot of development that was happening when I was getting ready to move back to LA, and I was like, yeah, there might be some energy here, let's see what happens. 503 00:41:30,500 --> 00:41:36,260 And then Blink hits and Blink is like a game changer in terms of like the art world, especially locally. 504 00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:37,960 Thank you. 505 00:41:38,320 --> 00:41:39,300 You're also hot too. 506 00:41:44,580 --> 00:41:45,400 Thank you, Chase. 507 00:41:45,820 --> 00:41:48,900 If you're interested, I mean, we can't keep you away. 508 00:41:49,140 --> 00:41:52,840 Chase is going to be starting to actually put paint on the wall at the city hall building, 509 00:41:53,140 --> 00:41:54,720 like October 1st, ish. 510 00:41:55,520 --> 00:42:02,340 So if you're just driving by or walking by, you can see the soup being made, as they say. 511 00:42:02,760 --> 00:42:07,100 And that'll be the case with all the artists that are coming in to start painting here in 512 00:42:07,100 --> 00:42:15,000 coming 10 and on the Cincinnati side of the river. So that starts a good week to 10 days 513 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:19,840 or so before Blink actually starts because the goal is to have all those finished either 514 00:42:19,840 --> 00:42:25,200 on the 8th when we start Blink or sometime in those first couple of days been be finishing 515 00:42:25,200 --> 00:42:33,800 up. So another example of Chase's work here. Very distinctive style. That's an interior 516 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:45,000 spot it looks like? Okay, yep, very cool. So just another little snapshot of how we try to guide folks through 517 00:42:45,000 --> 00:42:52,100 Blink because for those of you that have been I think always and forever we will be continuing to work on the 518 00:42:52,100 --> 00:43:00,780 conundrum of getting so many people hundreds of thousands in certain sections right at one time through streets that aren't 519 00:43:00,780 --> 00:43:06,260 necessarily designed right like it's this is not Times Square. This is not where you know that typically happens 520 00:43:06,260 --> 00:43:13,580 and so guiding people along and making sure that it's clearly marked and that we we have beacons 521 00:43:13,580 --> 00:43:20,060 that will guide folks from one place to another so we just have been calling it I've been using these 522 00:43:20,060 --> 00:43:25,820 terminologies of beacons and bread crumbs really since the first the earliest link and beacons would be 523 00:43:25,820 --> 00:43:30,680 the large projection might be in sight so this is an example for instance of the toy heritage 524 00:43:30,680 --> 00:43:36,400 mural that 2001 colors painted several years ago that we have brought to life several 525 00:43:36,400 --> 00:43:41,900 times throughout the Blink Festival that is clearly visible from a long distance away. 526 00:43:42,300 --> 00:43:47,220 It serves as a beacon for people to sort of look up point and go okay we're making our way 527 00:43:47,220 --> 00:43:52,660 towards that and along the way as they are making their way towards that there are spots 528 00:43:52,660 --> 00:44:00,500 within that root that we call breadcrumbs, but maybe a little bit because they're also super impactful. 529 00:44:00,860 --> 00:44:05,080 In fact, these are the types of things that get the highest ratings on survey data. 530 00:44:05,360 --> 00:44:11,440 Anything that's interactive, things that people can really get involved in, so light based installations. 531 00:44:12,040 --> 00:44:14,660 And sometimes they're down alleyways like this one was. 532 00:44:15,100 --> 00:44:19,740 Here's another example of a beacon. This is on the contemporary art center, of course, over in Cincinnati. 533 00:44:20,260 --> 00:44:22,980 and another example of this is Crescendo, 534 00:44:23,240 --> 00:44:25,800 which will actually be coming back again this time around. 535 00:44:25,920 --> 00:44:29,300 This is by local artist Kyle Ellie Ebersol, 536 00:44:29,680 --> 00:44:31,200 and that'll be in Lionel Park this year. 537 00:44:31,900 --> 00:44:35,180 So yeah, just the stats that you've heard already over and again, 538 00:44:35,280 --> 00:44:37,180 but I want to make sure everybody gets those dates down. 539 00:44:37,320 --> 00:44:40,800 October 8th of the 11th is when Blink will be happening 540 00:44:40,800 --> 00:44:41,940 this time around. 541 00:44:42,720 --> 00:44:45,320 We've been talking internally about our theme. 542 00:44:45,620 --> 00:44:47,460 We don't have a theme that we put out to artists. 543 00:44:47,460 --> 00:44:53,240 This is an artist showcase, artists are invited to bring their best work, which is great. 544 00:44:53,360 --> 00:44:55,680 That's why I think so many artists want to be a part of Blink. 545 00:44:55,900 --> 00:44:59,960 There's not a lot of artistic direction for them, but internally we've been talking about 546 00:45:00,000 --> 00:45:29,880 This being a radically welcoming, blank edition. We always try to be welcoming, but this goes along all of the different audiences that we serve. So we're working again with our accessibility partner, all in events. So they'll come in and really make sure that there are viewing areas for folks of all different abilities. It is inherently I'm walking a big giant space of two states, but we can try to make certain areas that are 547 00:45:29,880 --> 00:45:31,660 are as accessible as humanly possible. 548 00:45:31,880 --> 00:45:33,220 And so we're leaning into that again, 549 00:45:33,380 --> 00:45:34,660 even more so this time around. 550 00:45:35,360 --> 00:45:36,880 And with our sponsors, our donors, 551 00:45:36,880 --> 00:45:39,240 and really increasing our VIP opportunities, 552 00:45:39,700 --> 00:45:41,880 we're gonna be hosting a VIP event over 553 00:45:41,880 --> 00:45:44,260 for our sponsors on this side of the river at DBL Law, 554 00:45:44,480 --> 00:45:47,260 actually, which we'll be able to stand out and see 555 00:45:47,260 --> 00:45:50,740 one of the new murals and new projection mapping sites 556 00:45:50,740 --> 00:45:51,960 from the balcony up there. 557 00:45:52,180 --> 00:45:54,940 So that's exciting, but just increasing those opportunities 558 00:45:54,940 --> 00:45:56,200 in ways to say thank you. 559 00:45:56,260 --> 00:45:59,300 Because again, with raising $8 million put this on, 560 00:45:59,300 --> 00:46:05,260 We need all the partners and we need folks to really feel appreciated as I'm sure you all can understand and then of course 561 00:46:05,260 --> 00:46:11,700 This our general audience making sure everybody feels like they want to be here and then they have a good time despite the crowds 562 00:46:11,700 --> 00:46:15,720 Despite sometimes the headaches of parking or getting down here that everybody's feeling 563 00:46:16,420 --> 00:46:19,320 welcomed and and things are safe and 564 00:46:20,160 --> 00:46:25,180 Clean and so we'll make sure we have all of the facilities and all the logistics pan down so 565 00:46:25,180 --> 00:46:32,160 So, media breakdown, this is a part of Blink that is so phenomenal and I think just we 566 00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:36,920 put a lot of work into it, but surprisingly this is not something that we necessarily put 567 00:46:36,920 --> 00:46:41,440 a lot of dollars behind, we get a ton of earned media certainly locally and regionally which 568 00:46:41,440 --> 00:46:41,960 is awesome. 569 00:46:42,340 --> 00:46:46,780 Our partners at meeting KY and visit SINCE do a lot of the heavy lifting outside of the region 570 00:46:46,780 --> 00:46:52,960 so marketing coming to Cincinnati for Blink in places that are drivable, the markets kind 571 00:46:52,960 --> 00:46:54,040 and surrounding us, right? 572 00:46:54,540 --> 00:46:58,320 But we get a ton of traffic on Instagram, 573 00:46:58,320 --> 00:47:02,560 particularly on Facebook and just media hits in general. 574 00:47:02,760 --> 00:47:04,380 So it's a great, it's also a great thing 575 00:47:04,380 --> 00:47:06,100 and a point for sponsors too, right? 576 00:47:06,240 --> 00:47:08,340 Cause we continue to highlight our partners as well. 577 00:47:09,180 --> 00:47:11,860 Just wanted to kind of give a snapshot of, 578 00:47:12,200 --> 00:47:13,900 we had the Covington map earlier 579 00:47:13,900 --> 00:47:15,140 that was a little bit larger 580 00:47:15,140 --> 00:47:17,040 and then this is the entire footprint. 581 00:47:17,320 --> 00:47:19,160 So similar to previous years, 582 00:47:19,160 --> 00:47:24,320 For this north, we'll be the Finley market zone and then we'll be in over the 583 00:47:24,320 --> 00:47:29,200 Rhine music hall. Of course we'll continue to be a major beacon. We'll have 584 00:47:29,200 --> 00:47:32,900 actually four different projections on music hall this time around, one of 585 00:47:32,900 --> 00:47:38,520 which is a live iterative performance. Another one is a commissioned piece to 586 00:47:38,520 --> 00:47:43,940 celebrate America 250. So that will be a camp missed spot as well as it 587 00:47:43,940 --> 00:47:47,340 typically is. And then we'll come down into the fountain district or the 588 00:47:47,340 --> 00:47:51,980 central business district, the banks, and then over obviously even to the 589 00:47:51,980 --> 00:47:56,840 Covington Zone. Some new things real quick. Before my time is up, I do want to 590 00:47:56,840 --> 00:48:00,980 hit on. We are partnering with pig works this year for the first time ever to 591 00:48:00,980 --> 00:48:06,680 have a blink night run. So blink run the night. It's not a true 5K. It's very much 592 00:48:06,680 --> 00:48:11,420 designed to be a fun run. That will be on Tuesday, October 6th. I think there 593 00:48:11,420 --> 00:48:15,260 are still a few limited spots open if you're interested. And it really will 594 00:48:15,260 --> 00:48:19,920 service a sneak peek because you will, the runners in that race will start at 595 00:48:19,920 --> 00:48:23,860 Elm Street Plaza and run down towards the banks on the Cincinnati side and they 596 00:48:23,860 --> 00:48:26,780 will run around some of the light-based installations that we will have 597 00:48:26,780 --> 00:48:31,780 already installed and in test and lit up on that Tuesday night. So that's a fun 598 00:48:31,780 --> 00:48:37,060 new element. And then I think probably for me the most exciting point and 599 00:48:37,060 --> 00:48:41,500 something that's brand new is we have transitioned away from the parade, which 600 00:48:41,500 --> 00:48:46,060 which has typically been our kind of kickoff event on that Thursday night, the 8th, to 601 00:48:46,060 --> 00:48:52,080 a block party opening ceremony style event that will be actually starting at 4 o'clock 602 00:48:52,080 --> 00:48:58,620 on Thursday the 8th, out front of TQL Stadium on Central Parkway in Cincinnati, so kind 603 00:48:58,620 --> 00:49:05,560 of all way from behind music hall all the way up to Liberty Street in OTR, and yeah, that 604 00:49:05,560 --> 00:49:08,960 will start 4 o'clock. We'll have food and beverage vendors. A lot of the community groups, 605 00:49:08,960 --> 00:49:12,820 a lot of this corporate partners, folks that have been involved in the parade, will now 606 00:49:12,820 --> 00:49:17,600 have a more stationary spot on the Block Party footprint, so you'll be able to come and 607 00:49:17,600 --> 00:49:22,860 get glow-in-the-dark hair extensions or bring the kids down, get something to eat and drink 608 00:49:22,860 --> 00:49:23,620 early on. 609 00:49:24,040 --> 00:49:29,420 There'll be live DJs, we've got some celebrity guests making appearances, we've got a local 610 00:49:29,420 --> 00:49:34,160 band and a nationally-known band that will play, and then all of this will culminate 611 00:49:34,160 --> 00:49:35,860 and truly what I'm most excited about, 612 00:49:35,980 --> 00:49:38,840 which is a collective turning the lights on moment, 613 00:49:39,120 --> 00:49:41,380 which we really not ever had before with Link. 614 00:49:42,580 --> 00:49:44,060 The parade has been awesome. 615 00:49:44,360 --> 00:49:46,980 We've had a couple hundred thousand folks typically 616 00:49:46,980 --> 00:49:48,080 come down to see that, 617 00:49:48,820 --> 00:49:51,180 but it doesn't have kind of that moment 618 00:49:51,180 --> 00:49:52,880 like a drop the ball on Times Square 619 00:49:52,880 --> 00:49:55,460 or a lighting of the ceremonial torch 620 00:49:55,460 --> 00:49:56,620 like the Olympics have, 621 00:49:56,800 --> 00:49:58,040 and that's what this will create. 622 00:49:58,300 --> 00:50:00,140 And I think Thursday night tends to be a very, 623 00:50:00,480 --> 00:50:03,780 a much more regional audience as it is already. 624 00:50:03,780 --> 00:50:07,840 of course, it's not quite the weekend yet, and so this is our moment to really take 625 00:50:07,840 --> 00:50:13,080 pride and collectively turn those lights on, and so that will be that moment will be around 626 00:50:13,080 --> 00:50:20,080 eight o'clock on Tuesday, the, I'm sorry, Thursday, the 8th, and then there will be a drone 627 00:50:20,080 --> 00:50:25,680 show over TQL stadium, and that will be our only drone show on Thursday night, so for those 628 00:50:25,680 --> 00:50:31,000 of you that may have businesses near the river, take note now, there will not be a drone 629 00:50:31,000 --> 00:50:35,340 show on the Ohio River on Thursday night there will be one and then we'll be at TQL Stadium. 630 00:50:35,680 --> 00:50:40,280 However, it will be back over the river and view a bull from both sides of the river on Friday, 631 00:50:40,460 --> 00:50:46,100 Saturday and Sunday. And those will be similar to 24, 8 o'clock, 10 o'clock. So just mark your 632 00:50:46,100 --> 00:50:50,140 calendars, make sure you spread the word. And this is just some fun stuff. I wanted to show some of 633 00:50:50,140 --> 00:50:54,360 the artwork that will actually be over here on the Covington side of the river. This one right now 634 00:50:54,360 --> 00:51:00,340 is scheduled to go down tobacco alley. That'll be fun one. Some very interactive, fun, light-up bikes 635 00:51:00,340 --> 00:51:01,960 that you can get on in Petal. 636 00:51:02,880 --> 00:51:07,580 This chorus design coming from Hungary, larger than life, 637 00:51:07,740 --> 00:51:09,120 this is right now scheduled to be 638 00:51:09,120 --> 00:51:11,160 in the Kenton County Library parking lot, 639 00:51:11,300 --> 00:51:13,600 which was a fun Hangout Zone in 2024. 640 00:51:14,720 --> 00:51:20,500 This again is some examples of either the muralist Dulk, 641 00:51:20,780 --> 00:51:23,440 who I think I'm sure Chase was talking about when he said, 642 00:51:23,640 --> 00:51:27,000 I mean, one of the most renowned internationally muralists, 643 00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:31,820 And then some other of the light-based cultures that will be going up. 644 00:51:32,420 --> 00:51:38,280 The bottom right is it's hard to tell in this picture, but that's the piece that I was 645 00:51:38,280 --> 00:51:40,780 describing that's going to be an intersection of park and court. 646 00:51:41,380 --> 00:51:42,220 It is gigantic. 647 00:51:42,700 --> 00:51:44,860 It will basically take up that entire intersection. 648 00:51:45,580 --> 00:51:49,340 And so I think that's going to be a camp miss as well for most folks. 649 00:51:50,660 --> 00:51:54,240 And then I just want to real quick touch on our partners. 650 00:51:54,240 --> 00:52:12,060 I think I want to thank the city of Covington, I mean, Charmilly and Sebastian and Chris and that whole group has been so fantastic to work with, and from, you know, not even necessarily a funding perspective per say, but just working together and collaboratively, like there's absolutely no way. 651 00:52:12,060 --> 00:52:18,140 what happened in a lot of cities and a lot of regions because the connection and the collaboration just isn't there. 652 00:52:18,400 --> 00:52:22,040 And so we're very fortunate to have both on the coming to the side and the Cincinnati side. 653 00:52:22,540 --> 00:52:30,780 Folks that have really leaned in, it's hard. It's really tough between police and public works and parking enforcement. 654 00:52:31,520 --> 00:52:35,380 I mean, every building and inspections, every department is touched. 655 00:52:35,500 --> 00:52:37,560 And so the collaboration effort is huge. 656 00:52:37,560 --> 00:52:41,980 So I just would say, you know, big thank you on both sides of the river for that. 657 00:52:42,860 --> 00:52:44,480 Oh, and here's this sneak peek. 658 00:52:45,200 --> 00:52:50,480 See who can identify this Covington landmark that will be eliminated this year. 659 00:52:51,080 --> 00:52:51,200 I 660 00:54:04,670 --> 00:54:05,650 gotta leave you wanting more. 661 00:54:06,070 --> 00:54:08,650 So that's where we got it all. 662 00:54:09,890 --> 00:54:12,450 Yeah, so everybody knows where that is, right? 663 00:54:13,090 --> 00:54:14,390 Yes, Mother of God Church. 664 00:54:14,690 --> 00:54:18,970 So that was a big hit in 2022, but we didn't bring it back in 2024. 665 00:54:18,970 --> 00:54:21,290 and now it's back on the route for 26. 666 00:54:22,410 --> 00:54:24,430 So we've got three different artists, 667 00:54:24,650 --> 00:54:25,990 so there'll be three different art pieces 668 00:54:25,990 --> 00:54:27,250 projected on the Mother of God. 669 00:54:27,570 --> 00:54:29,750 Actually, just so happens that all three of them are French. 670 00:54:30,730 --> 00:54:32,770 This particular artist, his name Leslie Epstein, 671 00:54:32,890 --> 00:54:35,030 this will actually be her second blink to be a part of. 672 00:54:35,670 --> 00:54:37,510 But yes, this shoe is coming from France 673 00:54:37,510 --> 00:54:39,410 and it's just spectacular. 674 00:54:39,810 --> 00:54:41,490 Most of the projection pieces are somewhere 675 00:54:41,490 --> 00:54:42,730 between five and seven minutes. 676 00:54:43,330 --> 00:54:46,230 So plan your night accordingly and come out 677 00:54:46,230 --> 00:54:48,710 and make sure you have plenty of time to see everything. 678 00:54:49,270 --> 00:54:53,350 But I think that's it for me, unless Pat, you got some questions? 679 00:54:53,970 --> 00:54:56,810 Audience? First of all, let's give it up for Leslie. 680 00:54:56,930 --> 00:54:57,450 Thank you. 681 00:55:02,600 --> 00:55:03,880 I'll get over you in a second. 682 00:55:05,320 --> 00:55:11,280 I think this is more for maybe the soup Nazi chase, but we had a local business owner down here. 683 00:55:11,320 --> 00:55:16,200 He was having problems with graffiti and he had a mural go up on his wall and the graffiti stopped. 684 00:55:16,860 --> 00:55:20,240 I don't know if that's artist-respecting artist and if that's a national phenomenon 685 00:55:20,240 --> 00:55:22,740 If that was just coincidence, somebody 686 00:55:39,830 --> 00:55:41,210 has a question in the front there, 687 00:55:41,470 --> 00:55:42,610 Lauren, if you can get to them. 688 00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:47,920 Hold on, Davis, wait a second. 689 00:55:48,580 --> 00:55:54,440 Outside of the collaboration between both sides, what were the other things that made our region stand out from the other cities? 690 00:55:55,540 --> 00:55:59,500 From other cities, where they have light-based festivals or something like that? 691 00:55:59,800 --> 00:56:04,860 Well, I'm presuming there was an application or a slash bidding process for it to come here. 692 00:56:05,140 --> 00:56:07,380 For Blinke to come here? No, this is homegrown. 693 00:56:07,380 --> 00:56:07,820 Okay. 694 00:56:08,080 --> 00:56:13,120 This was an effort really started with the Hale Foundation which had supported luminosity 695 00:56:13,120 --> 00:56:17,960 which was what the CSO did on music call, did projection mapping to celebrate I think 696 00:56:17,960 --> 00:56:19,260 an anniversary of some sort. 697 00:56:19,460 --> 00:56:24,000 It was so popular that it almost became dangerous like there were so many people packed into Washington 698 00:56:24,000 --> 00:56:28,060 Park trying to watch what was going on on music call that I think the powers that be were 699 00:56:28,060 --> 00:56:31,660 sort of like whoa we've got something really spectacular here and so then it became a partnership 700 00:56:31,660 --> 00:56:36,940 between the chamber who of course is the producer of things like October Fest and Hint starts 701 00:56:36,940 --> 00:56:42,720 today, go to October Fest and taste the Cincinnati and Asian food fest and so we had the logistics 702 00:56:42,720 --> 00:56:43,340 part down. 703 00:56:43,760 --> 00:56:48,660 We had our partners at Agar who had this idea to do a mural festival so they came into 704 00:56:48,660 --> 00:56:52,660 the table, partners at one thousand and one colors, what used to be known as artworks who 705 00:56:52,660 --> 00:56:57,320 really put their hands around the light based installations and the parade pieces and then 706 00:56:57,320 --> 00:57:00,640 a group called Brave Berlin who was doing the production mapping and so all of these were 707 00:57:00,640 --> 00:57:06,260 local, either nonprofits or companies and yeah it was like what do we want to do here that 708 00:57:06,260 --> 00:57:08,640 that would set Cincinnati apart and Northern Kentucky apart. 709 00:57:08,960 --> 00:57:11,060 So that's how it came to be, yeah. 710 00:57:24,850 --> 00:57:28,730 Hi, can you talk more about the app and when it's available 711 00:57:29,230 --> 00:57:31,330 and how to find it to navigate? 712 00:57:31,870 --> 00:57:32,230 Thank you. 713 00:57:32,430 --> 00:57:34,170 Yes, I appreciate that prompt. 714 00:57:34,670 --> 00:57:37,150 Our illuminated by sponsor is Arts Wave. 715 00:57:37,630 --> 00:57:39,550 And so, of course, the engine for driving arts 716 00:57:39,550 --> 00:57:42,130 in Northern Kentucky and the greater Cincinnati region. 717 00:57:42,810 --> 00:57:44,890 That app is being relaunched. 718 00:57:44,930 --> 00:57:47,190 So they launched it actually just ahead of Blink 2024. 719 00:57:47,190 --> 00:57:50,130 for they've been doing basically working on it for, 720 00:57:50,310 --> 00:57:51,990 you know, continuously for two years straight 721 00:57:51,990 --> 00:57:54,370 and it will launch now. 722 00:57:54,690 --> 00:57:56,150 It has launched, Rachel says. 723 00:57:56,570 --> 00:58:00,090 So yay, but the blink math will not be on 724 00:58:00,090 --> 00:58:02,350 until this coming Thursday-ish, 725 00:58:02,410 --> 00:58:03,490 so about a week from now. 726 00:58:03,870 --> 00:58:06,670 But there's all kinds of stuff on there as far as like 727 00:58:08,030 --> 00:58:09,810 specials, secret opportunities. 728 00:58:10,450 --> 00:58:12,310 It's free for the month of October. 729 00:58:13,050 --> 00:58:16,250 And so yeah, so definitely download the ArtsWave app. 730 00:58:16,250 --> 00:58:17,190 Sure. 731 00:58:18,930 --> 00:58:19,950 Other questions? 732 00:58:20,770 --> 00:58:21,990 We have a few more minutes. 733 00:58:39,900 --> 00:58:40,680 Great question. 734 00:58:42,040 --> 00:58:47,120 The TQL, so we will be two different shows, so there's a special show on Thursday night 735 00:58:47,120 --> 00:58:52,260 for the kickoff, and then the show on Friday Saturday Sunday will be the same show that will 736 00:58:52,260 --> 00:58:54,520 run the six different times twice a night. 737 00:58:55,360 --> 00:58:58,260 I would say it's about the same number. 738 00:58:58,420 --> 00:59:02,700 We may have increased slightly the number of zones, and so that's really what makes a big 739 00:59:02,700 --> 00:59:05,960 difference is the number of drones that you add, the more spectacular, the company that 740 00:59:05,960 --> 00:59:11,460 we use is actually based out of Texas and they just did an incredible 9-11 tribute where 741 00:59:11,460 --> 00:59:15,180 they put drones in the shape. I don't know if anybody's seen that. That's the drone company 742 00:59:15,180 --> 00:59:22,080 that we use in the Twin Towers in drones. So, yeah, they're top-notch exceptional group 743 00:59:22,080 --> 00:59:25,840 that we work with. And so, yeah, the technology, I mean, that's the other thing about Blink that's 744 00:59:25,840 --> 00:59:30,720 wild is like every, it only happens every two years. And in those two years, the technology 745 00:59:30,720 --> 00:59:34,380 Whether it's the projections, the media servers, the drone technology, 746 00:59:35,040 --> 00:59:36,460 like there's vast improvements. 747 00:59:37,320 --> 00:59:41,600 And it's really fun, like Panasonic and several of our other tech partners. 748 00:59:42,080 --> 00:59:46,980 They like to be a part of Blink to try out new equipment as well. 749 00:59:47,320 --> 00:59:48,800 Like stuff that's never been tried before. 750 00:59:49,160 --> 00:59:51,380 And so if you get into that kind of stuff, 751 00:59:52,280 --> 00:59:53,640 it's really exciting too. 752 00:59:53,740 --> 00:59:55,320 Like there's a lot of new technology. 753 00:59:55,480 --> 00:59:57,840 So that would be, I say, with the big thing with the drone show. 754 00:59:57,840 --> 00:59:58,300 Yeah. 755 01:00:02,360 --> 01:00:08,460 Great. I think that's all the questions we have. Leslie, great job. Thank you so much. Thank you all for having me. I appreciate it. 756 01:00:13,220 --> 01:00:31,640 And I apologize next month. We'll try to do a program that's a little more visual. I mean, that was amazing. I mean, people were almost crying when you had mother of God up there with with all that. That was fantastic. So we want to thank Leslie Mooney again and Chase Melendez. Also, we want to thank our sponsors today. 757 01:00:31,640 --> 01:00:35,680 St. Elizabeth Healthcare, the Milburn Group, a client insurance, 758 01:00:36,240 --> 01:00:42,520 idea zone marketing, meet NKY, Strauss and Troy, Gateway Community Technical College, 759 01:00:43,240 --> 01:00:46,740 DBL Law, and A&E Audio Video and Event Services. 760 01:00:47,440 --> 01:00:49,480 Also, Leslie talked about a survey. 761 01:00:49,980 --> 01:00:52,380 We do a survey after every one of our lunches. 762 01:00:52,380 --> 01:00:56,140 That would be helpful if you told us the things we can do even better, 763 01:00:56,280 --> 01:00:58,400 other ideas for programs, things like that. 764 01:00:58,940 --> 01:01:00,020 We would appreciate that. 765 01:01:00,020 --> 01:01:04,100 And again, we have the slide up there about how the business community can get involved. 766 01:01:04,340 --> 01:01:07,960 Carla and her team from meeting KWI are here at that table. 767 01:01:08,160 --> 01:01:12,820 If you want to engage with your business in some way in this, please do that. 768 01:01:12,980 --> 01:01:15,800 We would love to see that happen, excuse me. 769 01:01:16,140 --> 01:01:19,500 So join us next month, October 7th. 770 01:01:19,500 --> 01:01:23,660 We'll be back at Embassy Suites for our legislative luncheon. 771 01:01:24,120 --> 01:01:27,020 Shane Nome of Robling Solutions will be the moderator. 772 01:01:27,560 --> 01:01:38,300 In my absence, Jackie Roberto will be our facilitator and MC next week, and if you would, please treat them as if I was here. 773 01:01:39,900 --> 01:01:43,400 Well, maybe you should be nice to them, maybe you should be respectful to them. 774 01:01:43,700 --> 01:01:49,360 No, seriously, they'll do a great job and we hope to see you all next month, October 7th. 775 01:01:49,900 --> 01:01:51,020 Have a great weekend. 776 01:01:51,520 --> 01:01:55,260 This meeting stands adjourned, go to October fest and then go to blink next weekend. 777 01:01:55,520 --> 01:01:56,480 Thank you all, I appreciate it.