BURNING MAN FESTIVAL HOT TICKET FOR FREE SPIRITS

GERLACH, Nev. (AP) -- More than 10,000 free spirits, artists and musicians
gathered for a counterculture celebration on the desert near here Saturday.

Washoe County sheriff's Lt. Larry McGee said he expects the crowd could
reach 14,000 by the time the five-day Burning Man festival climaxes tonight
with the torching of a 50-foot wooden effigy of a man.

``It seems to be going pretty good,'' he said. ``You always experience
problems whenever you have this many people together, but so far they've
been minimal.''

Eight people have been arrested, all on drug charges. Six were booked for
selling LSD and mushrooms, and two others were arrested for selling
marijuana, McGee said.

Four other participants were injured, one seriously, in a head-on collision
late Friday near the festival site, 120 miles north of Reno.

And some other revelers were taken to the hospital after suffering drug
overdoses.

The arrests have gotten the message out that blatant drug use and sales
won't be tolerated, McGee said.

Participants must pay a $100 cover charge to enter the uninhibited communal
tent city on the Black Rock Desert.

Among other things, they beat drums, dance at fire rituals and exhibit
avant-garde art. Clothing is optional.

``Getting away from daily life is the main point,'' said Terina McCraw, a
student at the University of Nevada, Reno. ``It represents freedom. You just
let yourself go.''

Last year's event attracted about 10,000 people.

The law enforcement presence for the annual Labor Day weekend festival was
heightened after a rash of problems at the 1996 gathering when three people
were injured, one critically, when a drunken driver drove into their tent.
Another man was killed when his motorcycle ran head-on into a van.

Last year's event was much calmer.

The celebration began 13 years ago as a San Francisco beach party, but was
moved to the Black Rock Desert in 1990 as it drew increasingly large crowds.

1997 - 1998 Mercury Center.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst