MORGAN COUNTY, Colo. — When Brandy Harvey and her daughter attended the 2022 Lights Fest in Weld County, her video captured hundreds of sky lanterns illuminating the night.
"It was just breathtaking. It really was magnificent," she remembered.
It's such a memorable event that when Harvey heard about another Lights Fest scheduled for Oct. 12, 2024, near the town of Brush on the Eastern Plains, she immediately bought two tickets, paying about $100 for the pair. She also paid an extra $3.99 for a refund protection plan, where the website states she could get her money back "no questions asked."
Watch a video that Harvey took at the 2022 event in the player below.
But that event never happened. It has been postponed four times.
And Harvey has yet to see a refund, despite asking for one.
She has found that her experience is similar to that of others who complained to the Better Business Bureau. Viive Events, the Utah-based company that puts on the Lights Fest, has an F rating and dozens of complaints about refunds and canceled events.
Additionally, Denver7 Investigates has uncovered more concerns with the Lights Fest, including a failure to pull proper permits and fire risk.
Refund runaround
Just four days before the October 2024 event, organizers posted that the event had been postponed "due to a fire ban." That's when Harvey requested her refund.
"I respected the fact that they were being cautious, especially in light of the horrible fires we've had in Colorado," Harvey said. "I would never want that to happen to anybody's property."
Harvey's emails to event organizer show The Lights Fest approved her refund for processing, but Harvey said the refund never came.
"It's not about the money," said Harvey. "It's more about principle."
Morgan County snuffs out Lights Fest
The Oct. 12 event had been planned for just outside the Eastern Plains town of Brush at Sweney Cycle Ranch.
Matt Sweney, who owns the property, said the event organizer, Collin Maki, booked his land and expected up to 5,000 people.
"He said that he had handled all that kind of stuff with the other event in Colorado, so he's familiar with it," Sweney said. "So he knew what to do for out here."
When Morgan County Sheriff Dave Martin learned about it, he went to the Lights Fest website to investigate.
He showed Denver7 Investigates a page that stated, "All events are supervised by the local fire marshal and fire professionals."
"That's not true," he said. "Because my fire department didn't know anything about this."
After Martin raised a red flag, Morgan County commissioners informed organizers that a special use permit would be required, which "takes approximately three to six months."
That email was sent about six weeks before the already-scheduled Oct. 12 event.
When asked about the fire ban organizers provided as the reason for postponement, Martin said there was no fire ban at the time.
"They had no permits," Martin stated. "I've been the sheriff since 2019 and have not enacted a fire ban once in my career."
However, he said, county officials were indeed concerned about fire danger in the bone-dry wheat fields.
"You and I both know what goes up has to come down," said Martin, adding that he feared a large prairie fire similar to the 2012 Last Chance fire that approached the Morgan County line.
Lights Fest postponed four times
In speaking on the phone with Denver7 Investigates, Collin Maki blamed the Morgan County cancellation and others on fire bans and weather, saying, "That's how it works with outdoor events."
But Sweney said Maki stopped responding to him after learning about the permit problem and waited too long to notify ticket buyers that the event had been canceled.
"I reached out to him several days in a row, text messages and phone calls, and never heard back," Sweney explained, adding that dozens of people showed up on the scheduled night of the Light Fest, not realizing the event had been postponed.
The new event was moved from Morgan County to El Paso County, more than 100 miles away, outside Colorado Springs. It's been postponed from Nov. 9 to Dec. 7, to April 5, and again to June 7.
In a statement from the new location, Ram Off-Road Park, the operator said the Lights Fest had already set up tents and rented equipment in April, but there was a fire ban a day before the event.
"We closed our park that weekend for the event, and then, at the last minute, it was canceled. No one was happy with the situation. Hopefully, everything goes smoothly in June," their email stated.
Sky lantern bans and Colorado laws
Some fire officials are now wondering whether events like these should even be allowed in Colorado.
"It's just very concerning to me," said Martin.
Sky lanterns are banned under the 2021 International Fire Code, which states, "A person shall not release or cause to be released an untethered sky lantern."
Colorado has no statewide law, leaving it to local jurisdictions, but 29 other states have banned sky lanterns.
Denver7 Investigates reached out several times to the Ellicott Fire Protection District—the jurisdiction in El Paso County that would handle the June 7 event—but has not received a response.
Even the Weld County event three years ago was memorable for more than just social media posts.
"We feel this event was reckless, irresponsible, and possibly illegal," said Clark Sloan, a surrounding property owner, who spoke at a Weld County Commissioners meeting after the 2022 event.
He and other neighbors complained about fire danger and debris, asking if the event should have been allowed under the fire code banning sky lanterns.
"Almost a mile from the event, I picked up about 25 of these balloons," said Jim Sarchet, showing commissioners one of the lanterns. "Every single one of them I picked up had been on fire. These events are already banned in many cities, counties, and states."
Ultimately, for some people, including Harvey, Sweney and Martin, The Lights Fest has gone from an Instagram-worthy moment to remember to an experience they wish they could forget.
"I hope the company does what's right," Harvey said. "I hope that this brings light and it brings accountability."
