COVINGTON, Ky.  — BLINK, Cincinnati's art and light festival, is returning for 2022 with plans to expand the show even further into the Northern Kentucky area.

Organizers said the 2022 festival will continue to build on the extension across the Roebling into Covington that was established in 2019. The Covington Plaza area will have a full BLINK experience, with large-scale installations taking shape along the riverfront to be seen from both sides of the Ohio River.

"We've all been through a lot as a community, these have been trying times for us as a community," said Joseph Meyer, mayor of Covington, during a Tuesday morning press conference. "We're just so excited about it."

In 2019, over 1.3 million people walked the streets of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky to experience the light and art show put on as part of BLINK, organizers said. The festival was so popular that its website crashed under the weight of searches and demand the night before the show launched in 2019.

In 2021, then-mayor John Cranley announced the planned to use American Rescue Plan funds to bring the festival back to Cincinnati this year. Cranley said city officials called for $1 million of the city's $290 million from the ARP would go to BLINK to help artistic endeavors recover after the industry was deeply affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The festival debuted in 2017 and has been a free, multi-day outdoor art experience.

In 2022, the festival will run for four days and span 30 city blocks, flooding the streets of Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky with street art, projection mapping and light-based installations. It's set to take place Oct. 13 through Oct. 16.