RISE Festival at the Mojave

On October 15, I attended RISE Festival with a small group of my friends. I knew about the festival because I saw some beautiful photos of the event from last year and knew I had to attend the following year. The experience was beautiful, but short-lived. Traffic was bad. Once we parked, getting into the venue was smooth sailing and each person received 2 lanterns, 1 marker, and 1 tatami mat per admission ticket. The trail was lit by stationed lanterns so carrying flashlights was optional. But, bringing some comfy sneakers is an absolute MUST because the trail is rocky (my friend wore slippers and ended up getting a splinter from walking and I also saw a lady trip from her heels).

Regardless of the section in which you receive your ticket, you were allowed to sit at any location with an available torch. There was live country music playing. Also, some food trucks were available at the event, but I suggest bringing some of your own small snacks.

The first synchronized lantern lift off was scheduled to be released at 8:00, but because of the hold up in traffic, it was delayed until 9:00 P.M. The time went by quickly. We sat on our tatami mats, and drew on our lanterns with the markers that were provided.

When the clock finally struck 9:00 P.M., we had our first synchronized lantern lift off, and the view was absolutely breath-taking. It was pretty difficult to get the lantern to afloat properly so you need to be patient. I suggest coming to this event with a group of friends because it takes 2 – 3 people to lift off one lantern. Each lantern takes at least 5 minutes to be torched, so a group of 3 – 4 is a good amount to share per torch. After the first synchronized lift off, many lanterns were continuously being launched.

All-in-all, I’m happy that I’ve crossed this off my bucket list. The view was breathtaking, and if the long wait in traffic isn’t off-putting to you, I’d highly suggest trying this event for a once in a lifetime experience and amazing photo opportunity.