Two weeks ago, I checked something amazing off of my bucket list: I went to RiSE Festival. It was breathtakingly beautiful, so I put together a vlog—my first!—to share my experience with you all. That said, there are a lot of things I wish I knew before I got to RiSE, so I’ve put together a guide of everything you need to know about RiSE Festival. Hope it helps!

(Note: This post was updated on 10/16/18 after Rise Festival 2018.)

What is RiSE Festival?

RiSE elevates hope, ignites dreams, and creates moments you will never forget. Personalize your lanterns with a message, a prayer, a dream or a resolution, and after sunset everyone will light our lanterns together and release them skyward. Together, the lanterns give a collective voice to our dreams and challenges in a beautiful display.

What happens to all the lanterns afterward?

RiSE has a “Leave It Better Than We Found It” policy. All lanterns are biodegradable and are specially designed with a short burn and flight time. After the event, workers retrieve the lanterns from the surrounding desert, as well as any pre-existing litter they find in the area. Some might argue this probably isn’t true, but I trust that it is part of the agreement they make to obtain permit approvals to host this event!

When is RiSE and how do I purchase tickets?

RiSE is always the first weekend in October. You can purchase tickets in advance by visiting the website and signing up for event notifications. Pre-sale tickets typically go on sale in January.

Should I purchase the weather protection insurance?

Weather insurance is $20 extra per ticket, and it’s up to you. But I will tell you that in 2018, the Saturday event was cancelled at the last minute due to bad weather. My group regretted not buying the insurance because we were all suddenly out $100+ each, not to mention all the extra costs of travel, hotels, food, etc.

(You can read more about my 2018 experience here… Reader’s digest version: it was BAD; they were completely unprepared for an emergency evacuation.)

What should I wear to Rise Festival?

Dress appropriately for the weather. When I went in 2016, it was was 90 degrees during the day, then high 70’s/low 80’s once the sun went down. I wore a dress, and other people wore t-shirts and shorts. I recommend packing a lightweight jacket, just in case.

In 2018, it was considerably cooler because a storm was coming in–75 degrees during the day, going down to low/mid-60’s after sundown with substantial wind.

What kind of shoes should I wear to RiSE Festival?

Let me say it again: it’s very dusty. It’s also a 15-20 minute walk from the parking lot to the actual event space, so I recommend being practical and wearing sneakers or close-toed boots. Ladies, I know you’ll want to be cute and all, but leave your sandals and suede boots at home unless you don’t mind retiring them afterward. Whatever shoes you do wear will come back looking like something a cat dragged home!

What should I bring to RiSe Festival?

• A friend! It takes at least 2 people to launch a lantern.
• A handkerchief to cover your nose/mouth as you walk around (it’s very dusty!)
• Water and/or a reusable water bottle, they have free water for everyone
• Colored pencils or felt-tipped pens if you want to decorate your lanterns with color.
• A real flashlight or lantern for the porta potties (don’t use your phone in there, eww)
• Extra roll of toilet paper for the ladies, just in case they run out. I read it happened in 2018
• Hand sanitizer and/or wet wipes

What should I leave at home?

• Tripods
• Drones
• Outside drinks (water is allowed)

Bring at your own risk:

• Outside food. It’s technically not allowed, but in 2016 and 2018 they didn’t do a thorough check of our bags. We were able to sneak in a few snacks.
• Chairs. Again, it’s technically not allowed but in 2018 I saw many people break this rule and nothing was done about it!
• Blankets (in 2016, they allowed them but in 2018 they changed the rules. I’m unsure if they were strict about this one.)

What time should I get to RiSE Festival?

Get there early! Gates open at 3pm, and while you don’t have to get there right at opening time, the earlier you can get there, the better. You’ll be able to snap photos of the iconic RiSE sign without tons of people in front of it and relax, listen to the live bands and take your time writing/decorating your lanterns.

If RiSE is hosted at Jean Dry Lake Bed, I recommend aiming to get there between 3-4pm. After 4pm, traffic on the 1-lane road gets really bad! At 5pm, it took about 30-40 minutes just to make it from the Seven Magic Mountains to the RiSE parking lot. I saw a lot of people arrive after 7pm, citing the crazy traffic.

When RiSE was in Moapa Valley, I don’t remember the traffic getting into the parking lot being bad at all. (I really hope they go back to Moapa Valley.)

Should I drive or take the shuttle?

Totally up to you. I can’t speak about the shuttle experience since my group opted to rent a car (it was cheaper for 6 people), but I can tell you that driving there was easy. It was about a 30-40 minute drive from Vegas. The downside to driving came at the end, when we were trying to leave. We left after the fireworks with the bulk of the crowd, so the wait to get out of the parking lot was about 45 minutes.

My friend, Christine, took the shuttle in 2016, and she had a positive experience that you can read about here.

How are the food trucks?

There were about 4-5 different kinds of food trucks (tacos, Chinese, gyros and more) and they are the only source of food in the venue. The lines were insanely long at 7pm, and even when we picked the shortest line, it still took 50 minutes to order and receive our food. (Lesson learned: get food a LOT earlier!) Drinks were sold in a different area. Credit cards were accepted.

What time are the lantern launches and fireworks show?

The first collective lantern launch was at 8pm sharp, and they started prompting everyone to begin lighting their lanterns at 7:50pm. The second collective launch was at 8:45pm. The website said fireworks would be after 10:30pm, but in 2016 they actually did them at 9:30pm.

Is it easy to launch a lantern?

NO! It’s way harder than it looks. When a lantern does not have enough air, it can go sideways instead of upwards, get scorched and/or set another person on fire. (I saw a girl’s hair get set on fire when a lantern grazed right over her head, so be careful and stay alert!)

So… How do I launch my lantern?

1. Hold your lantern over your torch until the fuel cell is lit.
2. Once lit, carefully step way from your torch and lower the lantern so that it’s hovering right above the ground. Adjust your grip so that you and a friend are holding the 4 top corners instead of the bottom (see photo below).
3. Hold your lantern like this for about 5 minutes; you’ll know it’s ready when the top of the lantern almost gets too hot to hold.
4. Carefully raise the lantern above your head and release!

I hope you found this helpful. Thanks for reading, and if you have any other questions about RiSE Festival, leave me a comment below!

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