ZEN FEST FINDS ALTERNATE LOCATION

Opposed In Grandview, It Moves To Ellis County

An all-night dance party scheduled for a Johnson County ranch that drew
intense opposition from Grandview residents has been moved to Ellis County.

District Judge Wayne Bridewell issued a temporary injunction Thursday
evening blocking the event from taking place tonight in Johnson County
about 35 miles south of Fort Worth. But organizers of the First Annual
Texas Zen Fest were already making plans to move to a location between
Maypearl and Itasca in Ellis County about 45 miles southeast of Fort Worth.

"We'll be monitoring the event, but we will not be involved on the premises
unless there is some incident requiring police duties," said Charles
Sullins, chief deputy of the Ellis County Sheriff's Department.

Ellis County officials were contacted Thursday morning, and promoters
agreed to hold tickets sales to 4,800, Sullins said.

If a crowd of more than 5,000 assembled, the Zen Fest would have been
subject to mass gathering rules and required to obtain a permit. Johnson
County used those statutes to obtain a temporary injunction.

"I haven't heard any complaints here," Ellis County Judge Al Cornelius said
Friday. "But I don't think anybody knows about it. I only heard about it
earlier this morning."

Zen fests, which have been held for several years in Florida, are all-night
parties featuring electronic, techno and sometimes alternative rock music.
The promoters, who could not be reached for comment, have said the parties
do not promote drug use and are not "raves" - all-night dance parties
usually held in warehouses or in rural locations. According to a recorded
message, more than 80 acts will appear at the event. It is scheduled to
begin at 4 p.m. Saturday and end at 6 a.m. Sunday.

In Grandview, residents organized petition drives and lobbied county
officials to prevent the event from taking place.

"We just couldn't see any benefits for the town," said Mary Thomas of
Grandview, mother of two teen-age daughters.

"I don't think people around here were angry. They just wanted to know what
was going on," Thomas said. "They did not advertise in Grandview. We didn't
even know about it until fliers were discovered in Fort Worth."

A September 1998 Zen festival in Zephyrhills, Fla., prompted a lawsuit in a
Tampa federal court that sought cash damages for patrons who were subjected
to illegal searches.

Another lawsuit that arose from the same concert named government
officials, saying they prohibited minors from attending the event.

Some local clubs that have tried to hold all-night parties have had run-ins
with police.

Richard Van Zandt and Wesley Hathaway, proprietors of the Ridglea Theater,
were fired from their jobs at the Fort Worth Museum of Science and History
after negative publicity over raves at the theater.

Narcotics officers made at least a dozen arrests at a Ridglea rave Dec. 10,
which caused Fort Worth police to stop permitting off-duty officers to work
security at the events. The club was also warned that it could be closed
for a year if another drug-related arrest was made or citation was issued.

As a result, the club's owners agreed to stop hosting raves.

In Arlington, the Dreamworld Music Complex has had encounters police each
time the club has held a dance party at the no-alcohol venue.

"To categorize what we do here as a rave is unfair and wrong," said John
Tunnell, owner of the club, who says that drug use is opposed at his events.

"We have been picked on and harassed ever since we had our first dance
party in February," Tunnell said. "They don't seem to have a problem when
it's a country or a rock show. But it seems every time we have a dance
party, we have a problem. I think the policy is since you can't get at the
people who use or deal drugs, go after the club owners and promoters. It's
not just here. It's all across the country."