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FARMINGTON — Dan Hill is always looking for inspiration.
Still, the 33-year-old Farmington businessman never expected the life- altering moment he experienced last year in Thailand.
"If I look back on my life, I can probably identify a half dozen turning points," he said. "None of them, except (losing) my brother, were moments."
Hill co-founded the Ragnar Relay series in 2004 with his father, Steve Hill, and longtime friend Tanner Bell. But he left the country's most successful overnight relay series in 2012 and within a year built a massively popular 5K series called The Electric Run.
As the father of three travels the world, he looks for events to attend and take part in, hoping to find pieces of beauty and joy to bring to his own work.
"I've been researching popular festivals all over the world," he said.
When he heard about the Lantern Festival, called Yi Peng, in Chiang Mai, Thailand, he knew it was something he'd like experience. But finding the exact date of the annual spiritual celebration is difficult as it's tied to the Thai Lanna calendar.
While researching the event and preparing for the Electric Run's event in Sydney, Australia, he stumbled on a version of the lantern festival held a week after the original celebration that was specifically designed for international tourists.
As he'd already decided to treat his staff to a few days in Thailand as a reward for their hard work in Sydney, he decided they should try to attend the festival.
Never have I had a moment that's had such an impact on me mentally and emotionally
–Dan Hill
"I was thinking the Sydney event would be sort of a celebration," Hill said. "But as it turned out, Sydney was a very stressful event and everyone was really exhausted. We all really needed a break. We were done and exhausted."
The group didn't have tickets and didn't know anything about the event so they showed up and volunteered to help the English speaking tourists. The organizers gave them a press pass so they could film their part in the festival.
The event had people sitting alone, meditating and then joining together to write on their lanterns, pray and talk before releasing their lanterns into the night sky.
"As people left their chairs and came together, I thought that's what it should be about the whole time - being with family and friends, decorating the lanterns," Hill said.
In that moment, Hill said he saw more than another event.
"Never have I had a moment that's had such an impact on me mentally and emotionally," he said. "There are so many ways to have meaningful, moving experiences in your life. Ragnar created very transcendent experiences, and it was one of the ways I found earlier in my life. … Running Ragnar has a pretty lasting impact on you, at least it usually does for most people. This was different though, because in a 20-second span, I knew exactly what I wanted the next 10 years to look like. I knew how I was going to make my contribution. …It took me back to six years ago, and all the things I wanted Ragnar to be, the things I believed it could be, I saw in that moment how I could do it."
He wasn't alone. He said the experience was inspiring and invigorating for those he'd brought with him.
The RiSE Lantern Festival is scheduled for Oct. 18 in the Mojave desert outside of Las Vegas. Tickets are on sale at risefestival.com.
When Hill first told his staff about the location near Jean Lake, about 22 miles away from Las Vegas, they were disappointed.
"But once we all went out, it's really the best of both worlds," Hill said. "It's 25 or 30 minutes from the strip, but it feels like you're nowhere near Vegas. There is no sign you're anywhere near Vegas. It was beautiful, just like the salt flats but brown instead of white. You're completely surrounded by mountains and the stars were incredible. …You're a world apart."
The group agreed it was the perfect location to stage the RiSE Lantern Festival. Hill said they're changing very little from the festival they attended in Thailand.
"We're committed to putting together a super high-end, class event," he said.
What Hill hopes is that those who attend will find what he and his friends did in Thailand — an opportunity to create a beautiful, even inspirational experience.
The lanterns have an open flame, so families will have a separate section. Hill said the lanterns they'll use are 100 percent biodegradable, but they'll also recover them, in addition to any litter they find in the hills around the lake bed.
The event will be social and spiritual as groups share a lantern on which they write their hopes, dreams, wishes, prayers or regrets. The lanterns require two to three people to launch, so groups will launch them into the air when instructed to do so. The lanterns join others, creating a visual that Hill said is breathtaking.
"I've never experienced anything like it," Hill said. "That's what we want people to feel. We all collectively said we felt 2,000 pounds lighter. …I want to make it an event without compromise. I can afford to build it the way my heart tells me it needs to be built."
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