PARTY STILL PLANNED AT RANCH

CHEYENNE, Wyo. (AP) - A 24-hour long concert planned for Saturday on a
ranch is not a rave, a lawyer said.

Cris Campbell of Denver represents Ha Hau, owner of Triad Dragons
Entertainment of Denver. Hau is the promoter of the concert on a pasture
at the Terry Bison Ranch south of Cheyenne.

The event will feature some of the most well-known electronic music
performers in the country. Most notable among them will be DJ Micro from
New York.

News that the event will be held in Laramie County has touched off a
firestorm of controversy because some say it is really a rave.

Tom Pagel, the director of the state Division of Criminal Investigation,
said the event is a rave, an all-night dance event featuring techno
music and the use of drugs like Ecstasy.

Last week Gov. Jim Geringer said Wyoming does not need a rave.

But Campbell said the event has been misunderstood by its critics.

"I think they're unfounded," Campbell said of the criticism.

He said drugs will not be tolerated at the event.

"If our security staff so much as sees it, they will be apprehended
immediately," he said. "The whole drug thing is overblown."

Campbell said organizers cannot guarantee there will be no drug use.
That can occur at any concert, he said.

"Law enforcement wants to paint a picture of a drug-infested sexfest,"
he said. "It's amazing because they haven't been to them.

"It's not a rave. I don't do raves. My clients don't do raves."

A rave is an illegal activity thrown without plans and without security,
he said.

The promoter has arranged for a 40-member private security force and
three off-duty Laramie County Sheriff's deputies, he said.

But Pagel said Tuesday he stands by his contention it is a rave.

"It looks like a rave, it smells like a rave, it walks like a rave. It's
a rave," Pagel said. "It is certainly consistent with everything federal
or Colorado officials have experienced in Colorado."

Campbell said he has been involved in at least 25 events over the last
few years involving 150,000 young people and had no problems. Saturday's
event is part of the Caffeine Tour 2001.

Just how long the event on Saturday at Terry Bison Ranch will last is
unknown.

Originally, gates were going to be open from 8 p.m. Saturday until early
Sunday morning. But that has changed since the controversy began last
week.

An attorney for the ranch has told Campbell that the contract between
the ranch and promoter specifically limits the event to June 23,
Campbell said. So that would mean it would have to be over at midnight
on Saturday.

Because of that, Campbell said, organizers may start as early as 12:01
a.m. Saturday and go until midnight Saturday. There will be a break for
a few hours.

Campbell said he is expecting between 3,000 and 5,000 concert goers.

On Tuesday, Pagel, Laramie County Emergency Management Agency director
Marty Luna and the Rev. Rodger McDaniel carried their opposition to the
Laramie County Commission.

McDaniel is chairman of Cheyenne CAARES (Chemical Abuse Advocacy
Education Support), an anti-drug organization.

"We hope you can come up with something to make sure this doesn't happen
here," he told commissioners Jeff Ketcham and Jack Knudson. "This is not
the kind of activity we want."

Ketcham directed Laramie County Attorney Peter Froelicher to prepare a
list of options to present the commissioners before the weekend.

Mark Voss, assistant county attorney, said the state has a law that
restricts events if they have more than 5,000 people and go for 20
continuous hours.

Laramie County Fire District 1 Chief Barry Jennings said he is worried
about fire protection, adding that there already have been grass fires
in the area.

"This has the potential to be a very serious problem and overwhelm the
entire EMS system," said Jennings, whose district includes Terry Bison
Ranch.

Sheriff Roger Allsop said the possible size of the event causes
concerns.

"I think we have a plan that will allow us to control it and stay on top
of it," Allsop said.

Deputies will do everything they can to intercept narcotics or illicit
drugs, he said.

Terry Bison Ranch also is considering its options, general manager Dan
Thiel said.

"We are still working very aggressively with an attorney in town to
explore all our of options in reference to the situation we're in,"
Thiel said.

He said promoters told him it was a musical event, not a rave.