The fifth annual "Divas" fundraising concert, which is a celebration of female power singers, will be held in Las Vegas this year instead of New York. The live three-hour special is scheduled at the MGM Grand on May 23. It will start at 6 p.m. and air live on the East Coast.

The show will feature Mary J. Blige, Celine Dion, Cher and additional performers to be announced. Tickets are $40, $100 and $150, call Ticketmaster at 702-474-4000.

The Eagles, who opened the Hard Rock Hotel in 1995, will be playing at The Joint again on June 1.

The popular Sunday jazz brunch at Commander's Palace inside Desert Passage has been expanded. The jazz brunch has now been added to the menu from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Al Jardine, one of the original founding members of the Beach Boys, will bring his Good Vibrations Beach Band to the Stardust on Friday, April 26. His current ensemble includes Brian Wilson's daughters, Carnie and Wendy, and his own son, Matt and Adam.

Before the formation of the Beach Boys, Jardine performed professionally as a folk singer. In 1961, he helped form the Beach Boys with his high school classmate from Hawthorne, California, Brian Wilson. Jardine was the lead vocalist on numerous Beach Boys recordings, including "Help Me Rhonda" and "Sloop John B."

The Good Vibrations Beach Band's new CD, "Live In Las Vegas," is a reprisal of Beach Boys favorites and includes a new song by Jardine, "California Energy Blues." Tickets are $35 per person, call 702-732-6325.

Canadian singer Celine Dion is moving to Belgium this fall to begin three months of rehearsals for her headliner engagement at Caesars Palace. She'll be working with Franco Dragone, who directed both of Cirque du Soleil's Las Vegas productions - "O" at Bellagio and "Mystere" at Treasure Island. Her show will open next March.

Country signer Alan Jackson is scheduled to perform at Buffalo Bill's Star of the Desert Arena in Primm on April 26. Primm, located on the Nevada/ California border on I-15, is a 40-minute drive from Las Vegas. Tickets are $37.50 and $52.50 through Ticketmaster.

Jackson is touring in support of his 11th CD, tilted "Drive." The CD debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard chart, selling more than 400,000 copies the first week. The success of the album is partially attributed to the single, "Where Were You (When the World Stopped Turning)." After the Sept. 11 event, Jackson awoke one night and wrote the song. It was first perfomed live at the Country Music Association Awards on Nov. 7.

Since his debut in 1990, Jackson has garnered many industry awards, including ASCAP's Songwriter of the Year in 1994 and 1995 and the Country Music Association Entertainer of the Year for 1995.

The hilarious Bill Cosby will headline at the Aladdin theater on May 25. Tickets are $54.50 and $69.50.

Barry Manilow will be sing his tunes at the Mandalay Bay's Storm Theatre, June 6-8. Tickets are $60 and $80.

Sharon King, wife of CNN talk-show host Larry King, will be Don Rickles' opening act when he returns to the Stardust, May 2-5. She was a former backup singer for Marie Osmond, Neil Diamond and the Beach Boys, and temporarily retired when she married the broadcasting legend in 1997. She resumed her career earlier this year.

The Mandalay Bay hotel-run restaurant 3950 bearing the hotel's address is a new addition to the AAA Four Diamond group in Las Vegas. The other award winners are Aureole at Mandalay Bay, the Eiffel Tower Restaurant at Paris Las Vegas, and Michael's at the Barbary Coast.

In addition to the Four Diamond award winners, Las Vegas has two Five Diamond winners: Renoir at The Mirage and Picasso at Bellagio.

The Amazing Jonathan headlines at the Golden Nugget Theater Ballroom downtown. The comedy magician began working his magic craft at age 13. But things changed for him during a talent show in high school when he was 17, when he planned to do six illusions. A female assistant blew one trick for him involving a cabinet and another trick that went wrong was the guillotine. Jonathan claims he's never done a serious magic show since then and just sticks to comedy. Tickets to his show at the Golden Nugget are $40, call 702-386-8100.

Gabriel (Gabe) Santana Falcon plays a dream set of drums in the Latin-themed production show "STORM" at Mandalay Bay. The drum set that he and fellow drummed Eddie Garcia designed is 12 feet by 4 feet, and it contains 22 drums, eight cymbals, full tom drum set, two bass drums, two timbales, two timbalitos, two bongos, three congas, six cowbells, one shaker and one super gong. Falcon performs an eight-minute solo in each show.

Falcon made music early in his career with his entire family. Father, mother, six bothers and two sisters, known as La Familia Falcon, performed throughout the United States and Mexico.

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The Western Music Association will hold its annual fall festival in Las Vegas this year. For the past 13 years, members of the Tucson, Arizona-based association have gathered for several days each fall to hold concerts and workshops celebrating western music. An estimated 10,000 people attended last year's festival, which has been staged in Tucson since 1989.

Tony Tillman will be singing "Strictly Sammy," a tribute to Sammy Davis, Jr. every Friday and Saturday through May 11 at the off-Strip property Boulder Station. Tickets are $14.95 plus tax.

It seems everyone has heard the news that Las Vegas icon Wayne Newton, who recently turned 60, is expecting his first child in May with his attorney-wife Kathleen. They've been married eight years and a surrogate mother is involved.

Actor/comedian Vinnie Favorito will bring his comedy style back to the Improv Comedy Club at Hararh's, May 14-19. Two fellow comedians Mike Preminger and host Graham Elwood will also be featured. Tickets are $24.95 plus tax.

Favorito is a "favorite" on today's comedy circuit and a regular on the Las Vegas Improv schedule.

Frank Marino, who impersonates Joan Rivers and stars in "An Evening at La Cage" at the Riviera, took a Mexican cruise recently that made a stopover in Florida. While in Florida, Marino happened upon an auction of celebrity clothing and memorabilia, with all the proceeds going to AIDS charities. What he purchased for $5,000 was a black and pink gown that was once worn by none other than_.Joan Rivers.

The $235 million, 1.8 million-square-foot Mandalay Bay Convention Center currently under construction already has seven shows booked. The complex is being built on 16.5 acres, connected to the south side of the existing 190,000-square-foot Mandalay Bay Conference Center.

It will be finished in a style reflecting the resort. The center will have a 100,000-square-foot pillarless ballroom, a 50,000-square-foot junior ballroom and breakout space to hold more than 75 meetings simultaneously.

The new center will feature the newest developments in voice, data and fiber-optic transmission capabilities and a 10,000-square-foot business service. Look for this project to be completed in January.

Gustav Mauler's OXO, a steak and seafood restaurant located at J.W. Marriott in Southwest Las Vegas, is offering dinner and dancing to the big-band sounds of the Mellowtones on Sundays from 5-9 p.m. The cost is $30 per person with tax and tip included, call 702-869-2335.

Hundreds of original lithographs from one of the 20th century's master artists are on display at the Centaur Art Galleries in the Fashion Show mall. "Marc Chagall - The Master of 20th Century Art" is on display through May 19.

The gallery staff contacted more than 40 art dealers and collectors from around the world and collected 250 pieces for the show. One-third of the exhibit has been purchased since it opened. Store hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. For information, call 702-737-1234.

On June 25, showbiz veteran Larry Taylor will celebrate his 15th anniversary as DJ for ballroom dancing at the Gold Coast. He'll leads the way on Sundays from from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and on Tuesdays from 7 to 11 p.m.

Word has it that the Flamingo Las Vegas with its extraordinary 15-acre pool paradise playground and wildlife habitat will have "Baywatch"-themed outside entertainment this summer. Time will tell.

Meanwhile, there is plenty of entertainment inside the 3,626-room center Strip resort that began its history with mobster Bugsy Siegel in 1946.

The Flamingo returned to headliner entertainment in its main showroom last Feb. 12, when Gladys Knight began a one-year contract performing seven shows, five nights a week.

In the afternoons, the showroom turns into comedy mayhem with Breck Wall's comedy revue. Since 1964, Wall has been staging "Bottom's Up" in Las Vegas and he opened it at the Flamingo in August 2000.

The Second City comedy troupe took over the Flamingo's smaller 200-seat Bugsy's Celebrity Theatre in March of 2001.

Chicago's famed comedy troupe, The Second City has nine performers rotating five slots on performance nights. About a third of each show is improvised, incorporating audience input. Another one third of the material is the best material from the show's 40 year history. The remaining third is tailored and written for the area or city where the show is playing.

Eric Norris, the 36-year-old son of Chuck Norris the actor, has been in town directing a movie for Showtime. He also took timeout to race in the Winston West event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway. He was the director on the TV show "Walker, Texas Ranger," but he wants to give up show business to be in racing full time.

"Oscart," an art exhibit featuring more than 50 depictions of Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman, is currently on display at the Arts Factory in downtown Las Vegas. Among the pieces is "Oscar's Adventures in Vegasland," done by students at Las Vegas Academy.

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