LEBANON — A rave party at the Warren County Fairgrounds that drew about 1,400 people on New Year's Eve caught police off guard and surprised the president of the fair board, who leased the building thinking it was for a concert.

        In the wake of six drug arrests for the stimulant ecstasy and LSD, damaged facilities and other police complaints, the event likely will be the last at the fairgrounds, board President Ed Wade said Tuesday. Cincinnati promoters Jason Brooks and Christian Wilhelmy arranged the event.

        “It doesn't sound like something that we would consider again with this kind of trouble,” said Mr. Wade, who was reached on vacation in North Carolina.

        The event was supposed to be the first concert scheduled at the fairgrounds in an effort to raise money by expanding the use of facilities there. The hall is typically used for livestock shows and business fairs.

        Mr. Wade said he was led to believe the event was going to be a rock-'n'-roll or heavy metal music concert.

        He was disappointed after learning Tuesday that drug agents arrested four adults and two 17-year-olds for allegedly selling dozens of pills of ecstasy and LSD. The drugs are commonly associated with raves — night-long techno dance parties that typically draw young adults and teens.

        The Warren County Drug Task Force, which was tipped off to the rave event Saturday afternoon, made the arrests in a 90-minute undercover roundup in the fairgrounds parking lot on North Broadway and at nearby convenience stores.

        “If we had more time, we would have done a different job,” John Burke, director of the drug-busting squad. With short notice and a tight budget, his squad did not have enough staff to investigate drugs inside the party, he said.

        Even so, when he went inside the hall to report the arrests to promoters, Mr. Burke said, he saw many people who appeared to be under the influence of drugs. There were other telltale signs that illegal substances were being used. Some vendors were selling pacifiers, which ecstasy users use to keep them from grinding their teeth, Mr. Burke said.

        “Rave parties are not illegal. I'm not saying everybody there was doing drugs, but there was a significant amount of drug usage at this concert,” he said. “They allowed people to be vendors inside that would contribute to or enhance drug use.”

        In addition to the drug arrests, Lebanon police responded to one overdose and a loud noise complaint, Chief Ken Burns said. Party-goers also clogged toilets, and Mr. Wilhelmy was paying to have them fixed on Tuesday, according to Mr. Wade.

        The rave affair was a regional party billed as UNO. The location, promoted as a “virgin venue” was kept secret until Saturday, when it was posted on Mr. Wilhelmy's Web site. That was to build excitement and to keep the competition from renting the same spot beforehand, Mr. Brooks said. The Web site included directions from major cities in Ohio, Kentucky, Michigan, Indiana and Tennessee. Partiers were charged $35 at the door.

        Mr. Wilhelmy, a Fairview resident who also is known as rave DJ X-ian, said he did not misrepresent the event when he rented Exhibit Building C for $1,000 from Mr. Wade.

        “We set it up as a concert event,” Mr. Wilhelmy said. He said people who attended were searched for alcohol and drugs at the door by a security team led by Mr. Brooks' brother.

        Anyone caught inside with drugs is kicked out, Mr. Brooks said. Signs were posted that drugs or alcohol were outlawed, Mr. Burke said.

        Mr. Brooks applauded the arrests as a “few less drug dealers out there to ruin the party,” and authorities said they considered the number of arrests low in light of the party's size.

        Mr. Brooks and Mr. Wilhelmy said they do not do drugs or condone their use at the events. However, Mr. Brooks said the use of ecstasy on the rave scene is fairly widespread.

        “The party scene is exactly that — a party. It's about the music and the dancing,” he said. “It does not have anything to do with drugs. But drugs do show up.”

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