dosojin fire festival nozawa onsen

Hi, we're headed to Japan Alps in Jan 08 for a couple of weeks skiing, and I'm trying to find out about the Dosojin fire festival held in Nozawa Onsen every Jan 15. Apart from the general info available on official tourism sites, I read a report on snowjapan.com that made it sound like a drunken sake-fest with a tendancy to turn violent, rather than an interesting cultural experience. Has anyone been to this festival who could give me some feedback? Arigato.