Rise Festival lights up the sky outside Las Vegas
Paper lanterns are released and float to the sky at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Paper lanterns are released and float to the sky at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Justin Smith, from New York, and Trixie Encomienda, from Los Angeles, prepare to launch a paper lantern at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A couple kisses while fireworks explode in the background at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Paper lanterns are released and float to the sky at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Paper lanterns float up at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A rainbow appears behind sisters Michelle, left, and Corinne Cowan, from Lancaster, Calif., as they wait for a shuttle to head to the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Participants make their way to the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Felecia Morris, from Los Angeles, has her photo taken in a spot of light as she heads to the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Tess Brown, from San Diego, prepares her paper lantern for flight at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Hector Morelo writes a message on his paper lantern at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Junnie and Jade Ranole, from Las Vegas, kiss as they inflate a paper lantern at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Justin Smith from New York and Trixie Encomienda from Los Angeles release a paper lantern at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A group releases their paper lanterns at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Paper lanterns are filled with hot air at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Paper lanterns head skyward at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Paper lanterns float up at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Justin Smith, from New York, and Trixie Encomienda, from Los Angeles, prepare to launch a paper lantern at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Heather O'Mara and her daughter Quinn O'Mara write messages on their paper lantern at the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Participants make their way toward shuttle busses for the RiSE Festival Saturday, Oct. 18, 2014 on a dry lake bed near Jean. (Sam Morris/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
The first Rise Festival was expected to attract as many as 10,000 participants who lit and released 21,000 balloons, according to a BLM assessment of the event being staged by Ody Events.
“It’s a centuries-old idea that’s both simple and powerful,” according to a Rise Festival website. “Thousands of lanterns, each representing a hope, a dream, a new leaf, or a forgotten wish coming together to form something beautiful.”
The lanterns were expected to be released in waves starting 30 minutes after sunset and lasting until 9 p.m., according to an assessment released by the Las Vegas office of the BLM.
Each lantern, made up of a fuel cell and a balloon, is about 2 feet wide and just over 3 feet tall.
The lanterns were expected to travel more than 1,000 feet into the sky, the flame in the fuel cell burns out and the lanterns return to the ground cool enough to touch.
