Oprah is used to celebrating others, but said she's looking forward to being a guest of honor.
"When I've done them in the past for people, it has always felt a little bit like being bombarded with a love festival that is about you, and you know that's gotta feel good," she said.
Haggard said that he didn't know exactly what to do. "I guess just sit there and look like you're having fun," he said.
The man responsible for the event, George Stevens Jr., said that being a spectator is part of the fun.
"We don't put much of a burden on them," Stevens said. "You don't sing for your supper. They are not asked to speak or perform. They simply receive the tribute of their colleagues and peers, which really makes it very different for them, and is part of what makes it so special."
Jones, who co-founded the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company as part of an openly gay, interracial couple, says that the award and White House reception will shape his worldview.
"I've always had this kind of position of feeling just outside, maybe the other, I don't know why but maybe a stepchild," Jones said. "As one gets older and you realize that your brand of art-making with its implied protest is actually something that people in positions of power respect, it's a very important change, very important change. It makes you feel more of a sense of responsibility, but it's a responsibility you can accept joyfully."
The event airs on CBS, Dec. 28.
Dave, Barbara go heart-to-heart
Barbara Walters returned to "The View" yesterday and told everyone she's fine from her heart surgery in May.
Welcoming Barbara back was David Letterman, who had his own heart surgery - an emergency quintuple bypass - a decade ago.
