CACTUS COUNTRY SAFARI

Free concerts in the desert by stars? What’s the catch: No water and $10 Cokes? Hot-shot salesmen selling lots?

No tricks, claim the promoters of next weekend’s High Desert Music Festival in Apple Valley’s tiny (pop. 6,500), growth-happy town of Adelanto (near Victorville, 96 miles NE of downtown L.A.). The two-day sunburn is free to those who’ve called the well-advertised 800 number and requested a pass for one carload. The purpose: to promote and test-market the 219-acre concert site, where Sultana Holdings hopes to build a $45-million theme park with a 12,500-seat arena and the world’s largest water slide.

Oasis Entertainment, a Sultana subsidiary, has sent out about 60,000 passes for Saturday’s Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival Show, which includes the Righteous Brothers, Bo Diddley, Hank Ballard & the Midnighters and remnants of the Coasters and Danny & the Juniors. For Sunday’s country concert featuring Roy Clark, 23,000 passes are in the mail. Cynthia Estrada, Oasis president, estimates the event will cost $1.5 million (for talent, electricity, a stage and site preparation--including $350,000 for laying a two-mile water main).

Adelanto Mayor Pat Chamberlaine predicts temps in the high 90s Saturday, but says the fire department will keep crowds cool with fog-mist nozzles atop two towers.