ALL-NIGHT DANCE IN LR CAN'T FIND ITS FOOTING

There's a new four-letter word in town: rave.

And even though promoters of an all-night dance party did everything to
avoid the term, nervous Little Rock officials blocked the gala planned for
the first Friday in October at the Riverfest Amphitheater.

A contract between Butch Stone and two central Arkansas promoters was
canceled this week after city officials said the October party couldn't run
past 1 a.m. The promoters, James Ply of North Little Rock and Tim McHugh of
Little Rock, wanted the party to last until 6 a.m.

As many as 5,000 people, mostly teens and young adults, from Arkansas and
surrounding states were expected to spend the night dancing to the
electronic music of eight disc jockeys performing against a backdrop of
swirling lights.

Calling the event a "dance party" didn't satisfy city officials, who saw it
as being no different than a rave. In recent months, raves have been
labeled locally and nationally as hotbeds of illegal drug use.

A teen-ager died after collapsing at a Little Rock rave earlier this month.
Drugs were cited as a contributing factor.

"This is not a rave," McHugh said. "What constitutes a rave? If it's
dancing all night, then raves go on several nights a week in this city at
places like BJ's Honky Tonk and Discovery."

Stone called the event, being planned by Ply and McHugh under the name of
PM Productions, nothing more than an outdoor disco. "It's an all-night
dance," he assured.

When Mayor Jim Dailey was asked Thursday about what was planned for the
amphitheater, there was no hiding what he thought of the event -- "Oh yeah.
The rave."

City officials blocked the event by invoking city rules that require all
parks to close at 1 a.m. unless the city board says otherwise. "We asked
several times if the time frame was going to be a problem," Ply said. "And
we were told it wasn't."

But that's not what city officials are saying.

"The amphitheater is a public park and as such has to close at 1 a.m. for
any event held there," Dailey said. "Unless it's an extremely unusual
circumstance. And even then, the city board would have to take action to
allow it."

City Manager Cy Carney said city officials were unaware of the promoters'
plan to make it an all-night fete. "Butch knows the closing of the park is
1 a.m. -- period."

Stone, the exclusive promoter for the amphitheater, said he knew he had to
comply with park rules but didn't know the exact time it closed. He said he
never needed to know since other events haven't run so late.

"We're normally out of there by 12 or 12:30 [a.m.]," he added.

Ply and McHugh offered a compromise: Let the event run until 4 a.m. It must
run that late, they contend, because many of those attending will be coming
from as far away as St. Louis, Dallas, Memphis and New Orleans.

The city didn't budge.

On Thursday, Ply and McHugh told city officials they've decided to pull out
of the park completely. The promoters' deposit has been returned, Stone
said, adding that he's helping them find another clean, safe venue.

That might be hard to do. Raves or other similar dance parties have
garnered a bad reputation pinned on drugs and reckless behavior.

Earlier this year, the founders of Cybertribe, a company that promotes
raves in the Little Rock area, and two people who frequented them, were
charged by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration with conspiracy to
possess ecstasy with intent to distribute.

Then at a Cybertribe rave Aug. 10 in a southwest Little Rock warehouse,
William Skaife, 17, of Hot Springs collapsed and later died. The synthetic,
psychoactive drug, commonly known as ecstasy, and a depressant, ketamine,
were found in his system.

That dance had been hastily moved to a warehouse at 5905 Patterson Road
after State Fairgrounds administrators refused to allow the dance in the
Hall of Industry, where Cybertribe had been regularly holding raves. At the
time, administrators said they canceled Cybertribe's contract because of
the drug charges filed against one of the promoters.

Ply and McHugh said they are not connected to Cybertribe in any way, but
they are taking the heat for it, nonetheless.

"There's this image out there about raves, but it's an image that's been
created by an incredibly small percent; it's a case of the actions of the
minority speaking much louder than the majority," said Ply, who is 29 and
married with two children.

The amphitheater event would have been different, the promoters contend.

Security, for example, would be tight. Those entering would be frisked and
asked to empty their pockets. Backpacks would be prohibited, and upon
entering, no one would be allowed to leave and return later.

Little Rock police would provide security and maintain a strong presence,
even in the restrooms. Booths offering drug education were planned, Ply said.

And parents would have been invited to attend, free of charge, to watch
from pavilions stocked with food and drink. "We want them to see what goes
on at these things; we want to try to change some of the perceptions," Ply
said.

"This culture is not going to go away," said McHugh, 31. "We can either
allow it to become mainstream and have more control over it, or it'll be
like jazz was back in the '20s and '30s when it was the center of the
underground drug culture."

Pulaski County Prosecuting Attorney Larry Jegley said he doesn't agree with
the assertion that drug use is only a small part of raves, noting that the
DEA believes 70 percent to 80 percent of those who attend them participate
in illegal drug use.

"My understanding is that at these events, there are two prices for water,"
Jegley said. "There's the regular one and then, if you don't look like
you're an undercover officer, there's a higher price -- for the one laced
with drugs.

"I'm all for good, clean fun but the recent death brings these events into
sharper focus and under more scrutiny."

Others are working to change the public's perception of raves.

In the past month, about 60 people in central Arkansas formed Realigning
Perceptions and Attitudes Inherent to Raving, or RePAIR. The group hopes to
show that illegal drugs are not intrinsic to raves and are something
partygoers are trying to eliminate.

"I think bringing these events into the mainstream is a move in the right
direction," said Jonny Dover, 19, of Sherwood, a founder of RePAIR.
"Whoever brings in drugs is a jerk and deserves to spend some time in jail."

The October event would have been a good test to see whether an all-night
dance could make the transition from underground to mainstream and still
draw a crowd, Stone said.

"If it can't," he said, "they need to just go away."