Gift of Sharon

Friday, Aug. 19, 2005 | 6:09 a.m.

WEEKEND EDITION

August 20-21, 2005

What: Newport Pacific Jazz Festival.

When: 5 p.m. until 11:45 p.m. Aug. 26-27.

Where: Dragon Ridge Country Club, 552 S. Stephanie St., Henderson.

Tickets: $25 (rear view seating, one day pass), $50 (standard view seating, one-day pass), $75 (premium view seating, one-day pass), $100 (premium view seating, two-day pass).

Information: 285-3562.

Sharon Osbourne is a survivor.

Married to the deeply dark, heavy-metal rocker Ozzy Osbourne for 23 years, she would have to be.

Her survival instincts kicked in when she was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2002.

After surviving the dreaded disease she started the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program at the Samuel Oschin Comprehensive Cancer Institute at Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.

Her nonprofit organization will benefit from ticket sales on the first day of the two-day Newport Pacific Jazz Festival, to be held Aug. 27-28 at Dragon Ridge Country Club in Henderson. The Las Vegas Philharmonic will be the beneficiary on the second day of the festival, which organizers hope will be the first of an annual event.

The festival will include art exhibits, a silent auction, fine dining and nonstop music beginning at 5 p.m. both days and ending around midnight.

Tickets are $25 (rear seating, one day pass), $50 (standard seating, one-day pass), $75 (premium seating, one-day pass) and $100 (premium seating, two-day pass).

For tickets and details, visit the festival's Web site, newportpacificjazzfestival.com

The list of entertainers who will perform include jazz guitarist Nils; Devoted Spirits, made up of former members of the original Earth, Wind & Fire; and Rick Latham and the Groove Doctors.

Also, the Larry White Jazz Band, guitarist Doug MacDonald, national recording star David Van Such, Len Levine and his swing band Jump, Jive & Wail, John Nasshan's jazz band Quintessence and Rick Arroyo and the Latin Percussion Ensemble.

Others include singer/songwriter Shelley Fisher, songstress Shelly Taylor, Motown natives the Brothers Ali, piano twins Mark & Clark and local 11-year old singing sensation Malia Civetz.

Osbourne, 52, a music promoter and the manger of her husband, will be among celebrities visiting the festival.

She and Ozzy (who first teamed up in 1979 after he was fired by Black Sabbath) have three children, Aimee, Jack and Kelly.

The Osbourne family was the subject of an MTV reality series from 2002-2005, "The Osbournes," in which cameras entered their home and taped them on a daily basis.

The show first aired in early 2002 and in July of that year she was diagnosed with cancer, but continued with the filming. The final episode aired on March 21.

Osbourne was the host of a short-lived TV talk show in 2003-2004. Reached in London earlier this week, she discussed her life with the Las Vegas Sun.

Las Vegas Sun: What is your connection with the Newport Pacific Jazz Festival?

Sharon Osbourne: I became involved with it through one of the people who works for me. Her mum is involved in the project and they wanted a nonprofit organization to benefit and they selected mine.

I'm honored.

Sun: Will you speak at the festival?

SO: I will be there, but I'm not going to speak.

Sun: Do you come to Vegas often?

SO: I come quite a lot, to see my friend Elton (John, headliner at Caesars Palace).

Sun: Tell us about the Sharon Osbourne Colon Cancer Program. How did you become involved with Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles.

SO: That's where I was treated.

Sun: Why did you start the program?

SO: I started it because I had so much help while I was going through my cancer treatment -- they have such a great support group.

But during that time I saw so many other people with cancer who were going through it on their own. It was then that I thought if I make it I want to give something back.

Sun: How exactly does the program work?

SO: We aren't involved at all in medical research. We do a lot of little things that help people through their day to improve their lives and the lives of their loved ones.

Sun: What are some of the services?

SO: At-home help, child care, transportation, that sort of thing.

And we provide access to support groups and patient care services offered within Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

The program also underwrites colon cancer education for health care providers.

Sun: What was your reaction when you learned you had cancer?

SO: It was a shock. There is that fear of the unknown, whether you are going to survive.

No matter how many leaflets you read, you can never get enough information.

Sun: How were you affected by the ordeal?

SO: Nobody told me my nails were going to fall off. I lost a couple of my nails -- that was a surprise.

But it's amazing, once you get through it you forget it so quickly -- you forget the pain and the discomfort.

Sun: Has the experience changed you?

SO: It totally changed my life around -- mentally and physically. I'm not the same person I was before. I think I'm a better person now.

Sun: You've always been a very active person. Has this slowed you down?

SO: In fact it has kind of quickened everything up because I don't want to miss out on anything. There is so much to accomplish.

Sun: What is your latest project?

SO: I have written a book -- my life story. It will be coming out in Europe in October and in the United States in January.

Sun: Is it a tell all?

SO: Oh, yes. Absolutely.

Sun: Your reality TV series, "The Osbournes," -- are you glad you did it? Would you do it again?

SO: We finished filming well over a year ago.

It was fun. We kind of started that sort of reality series, and it opened the door for everyone else. Ours was the best reality show ever, but it was time for us to finish and to move.

Sun: What was the source of your strength during your cancer treatment? What got you through it?

SO: My kids. I just wasn't ready to go because of my kids. I just couldn't leave them. They still needed me as a mum, that's what kept me going. I just wouldn't go. My work wasn't finished.