08/18/2022

The Dish: Kathie Lee Gifford welcomes grandson; Gronk drops by Stamford; Ringo Starr’s art shown in Greenwich

Scene… Singer/songwriter and former “Today” show co-host Kathie Lee Gifford celebrated the birth of her first grandchild, Frank Michael, who was born ast week to her son, Cody, 32 and his wife, Erika Brown. The young family lives in the Riverside home where Cody grew up with his parents, Kathie Lee and the late Frank Gifford.

Scene… Free agent Rob “Gronk” Gronkowski, formerly of the New England Patriots and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, spent the afternoon of June 5 hanging at Cisco Brewers at The Village in Stamford’s South End with former teammates Niko Koutouvides and Shane Vereen. They were in town to participate in the NFL Alumni Association CT Chapter’s Charity Golf Classic at the Country Club of Darien. Later in the day, the popular rock band Green Eyed Lady performed on the Brewers’ rooftop and met up with “Gronk” for a photo.

Out there… Stamford Downtown’s annual outdoor art exhibit this year is called HedgeFun and features 16 animal topiaries on display on sidewalks and parks through September. The HedgeFun animals, which light up at night with solar lights, will be up for sale at the end of the exhibit. A portion of the proceeds will be used to plant trees in Stamford downtown. For more info and a map of locations, visit stamford-downtown.com/events/hedgefun-art-in-public-places/

Scene… Greenwich resident Indra Nooyi, former CEO of PepsiCo who now serves on the board of Amazon, was seen at dining at Ruby & Bella on Greenwich Avenue with friends on the evening of June 4.

Out there… Courtney White, former president of the Food Network, is partnering with the Wheelhouse in Stamford to create “Butternut,” focused on creating original content on food, home and lifestyle for all platforms.White’s Connecticut-based offices will operate from Butternut Farm, her family’s fresh-cut flower farm in Southport. She will work with a range of established, emerging, homegrown talent. The Wheelhouse was founded by Greenwich resident Brent Montgomery in partnership with TV personality Jimmy Kimmel.

Scene… Award-winning journalist Katie Couric was in New Rochelle, N.Y., last week for the grand opening of Hair House on Huguenot Street. The boutique salon, formerly located in the Bronx, N.Y., is owned by celebrity stylist Dana Fiore, who has worked as a stylist for many TV personalities and has been featured in Vogue, Cosmopolitan, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, “Today,” “America’s Next Top Model” and more.

Scene… Renowned musician Mark Rivera, who is Billy Joel’s sax player and Ringo Starr’s musical director, stopped by C. Parker Gallery in Greenwich on June 4 to check out an exhibit of Starr’s work called “Painting is my Madness Too.” Starr, who wrapped up three sold-out shows at the Beacon in NYC recently, has created two new works of art exclusively for C. Parker Gallery. Rivera performed with Billy Joel at the Greenwich Town Party on May 28. This is the last weekend to check out and purchase limited edition hand-signed artwork created by Ringo Starr to benefit his charity, The Lotus Foundation. For more info, contact Tiffany Benincasa at tiffany@cparkergallery or call 203-661-0205.

Out there… The Greenwich Historical Society’s concert series dubbed Music on the Great Lawn takes place on Thursday, June 16, featuring the Connecticut-based Beatles tribute band The Sun. For more info, go to www.greenwichhistory.org.

Out there… Comedian Jay Leno, former host of “The Tonight Show,” will perform at the Ridgefield Playhouse at 4 p.m. Sunday, June 26. For tickets ($135 to $150) go to www.ridgefieldplayhouse.org or call 203-438-5795.