What’s Doing in NYC

Brad Pitt & Yoshiki, Chloë Sevigny & Bentley Meeker, Megyn Kelly & Arthur Aidala, Marcus Samuelsson & Herb Karlitz, Chad King & Nancy Davis

Couri’s Birthday

Last year, Mayor Eric Adams helped me celebrate my birthday in NYC. I decided to leave politics out of it this year. I didn’t think Mayor Mamdani was going to jump on a private plane with the Mrs to Miami to help me blow out my candles. That didn’t stop a stellar group, including composer Karen LeFrak, who sits on the board of the New York Philharmonic, and philanthropists Kimberly Paige Bluhm, who serves on the board of the Norton Museum, and Steve Simon and Blaine Trump, Vice Chair on the God’s Love We Deliver board, who was talking up the organization’s Midsummer Night Drinks party that will be held at the whimsical Hamptons estate of Neil Patrick Harris and David Burtka on July 11th. Also on hand were Peter Thomas Roth and his 103-year-old mother Carole Roth, Body by Julia designer Julia Haart, who has moved to Miami full-time, author Jean Shafiroff, and Joseph Hernandez, who’s running for State Comptroller in New York under the Republican banner. The dress code of the party, held on Fisher Island, Florida, at the oceanfront home of developer Janna Bullock, was Blue & Bijoux, and the hostess did not disappoint in a blue and bejeweled knockout sheath by Dolce & Gabbana that clung and clanged in all the right places. Her daughter Eugenia Bullock’s company, Savoring Spaces, catered the party that featured double baked potatoes with a mound of caviar from Caviar Kaspia, piles of Joe’s Stone Crab, and two kinds of pasta and salad, washed down with Dom Ruinart Champagne. I blew out the candles on a cake from Cipriani, and wished, “With Carole (Roth) as my inspiration, I hope to make it to 107!”

Yoshiki & Brad Pitt

F1 starring Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, and Javier Bardem won the Oscar for Best Sound. The Miami Grand Prix, which recently brought more than 275,000 spectators to the Miami International Autodrome, has drawn fans from Timothée Chalamet, Gordon Ramsay, and DJ Khaled to boxer Evander Holyfield, and Baltimore Ravens’ running back Derrick Henry. Across the ocean, this year’s TIME100 honoree and rock star, Yoshiki, who has shared the stage with The Jonas Brothers, Josh Groban, Ellie Goulding, Bono and will.i.am, performed his country’s National Anthem at the Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix. Next up for Yoshiki is Walt Disney’s Concert Hall for two nights on July 16 and 17. yoshiki.net

Bentley Meeker & Chloë Sevigny

Chloë Sevigny, a movie star for three decades, is starting to regret her lack of privacy. “The more annoying aspect is the way we’re photographed now: phones, in public, the lighting on the red carpet, and the runways,” she said. “Nobody’s doing anybody any favors; there’s no more glamour or nuance to it. As an aging woman, it sounds less enjoyable to be a part of all that, because it just feels really vulnerable and exposed, and then you’re just being picked apart on the internet.” Lighting guru and artist Bentley Meeker, who has lit hundreds of events and galas, said there are better ways to do it. “We have warm lighting, so it isn’t just bright white light. When we do our red carpets, we use amber to make complexions pop and skin tones blush,” Meeker said. “Shadow really does have a way of accentuating the beauty of somebody’s features. More angular light, more color, and more saturation flatters everyone.” bentleymeekerart.com 

SOMOS & St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital

St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has always been a favorite cause for the A-list, with stars including Jennifer Aniston, Sofia Vergara, Luis Fonsi, and Drew Barrymore backing the organization’s mission to treat the toughest childhood cancers and pediatric diseases. stjude.org The energy headed to Cipriani Wall Street for this year’s tenth annual St. Jude Hope and Heritage Gala, presented by Dr. Ramon Tallaj of SOMOS Community Care and his wife, Ines Hernandez. The night was an important tribute to the hospital’s roots and held a special connection for Dr. Tallaj, who shares the same Lebanese heritage as the organization’s founder, comedian Danny Thomas. somoscommunitycare.org

Harriet Newman Cohen’s Book Talk

Celebrity divorce attorney and Barnard College alumnae Harriet Newman Cohen joined the college’s President Laura Rosenbury for a fireside chat as part of the school’s Authors’ Shelf series. Cohen, a legendary figure in family law, discussed her new memoir, Passion and Power: A Life in Three Worlds. The 93-year-old legal icon chronicles a sweeping narrative that mirrors the evolution of women’s rights in America. Cohen also reflected on navigating today’s landscape of shifting social mores and the ongoing fight for gender equality. Known for representing VIPs such as Tom Brady, Laurence Fishburne, and Andrew Cuomo, Cohen’s memoir is a candid and humorous account of her most pivotal cases. csklawny.com

Chad King & Nancy Davis

Singer Chad King just released “The Road Ahead,” a four-song collection inspired by his battle with Multiple Sclerosis. King, who created the band A Great Big World with his NYU classmate Ian Axel, told me, “I just want to share more music with people.” He called Axel his “best friend, like a brother.” Half his earnings from the song “All in Time” will be donated to Nancy Davis’ non-profit Race to Erase MS, which funds top MS research centers. erasems.org “They’ve been a big champion for me,” said King, who was diagnosed with MS in 2007, and now uses a cane. “I sometimes think of my life in two chapters, before my MS symptoms began affecting how I move through the world, and after. This EP was written in the ‘after’ chapter,” King said. @itsmechadking

Arthur Aidala’s Power Hour

Arthur Aidala celebrated 1,000 episodes of his radio show, Power Hour, with a live broadcast from Times Square. The lawyer started on AM970 The Answer/WNYM four years ago, broadcasting five nights a week. “Sometimes it’s a little exhausting after a day in court, but it’s a lot of fun,” Aidala said. “It’s as New York as New York can get. I’m trying to make it different from other media.” Among his guests on the 1000th episode were Megyn Kelly, Geraldo Rivera, Rosanna Scotto, Lawrence Taylor and Carol Alt. The two-hour event broadcasted live at USA Brooklyn Delicatessen on West 43rd Street. aidalalaw.com

Herb Karlitz’s Elevated Dining

Fancy restaurants are about more than food. “Elevated dining is about intention and orchestration: the seamless integration of food, service, atmosphere, narrative, and exclusivity, coming together to create a cohesive experience that feels purposeful rather than transactional,” said Herb Karlitz, the veteran event marketer. Karlitz, who produced Harlem EatUp!, hosted a panel at the NY Restaurant Show at the Javits Center with chefs Marcus Samuelsson, Simon Kim, Ayesha Nurdjaja, executive chef at Shuka and Shukette, and Eugene Remm, the restaurateur behind Catch Hospitality Group. karlitz.com

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The post Social Safari | Park Magazine Spring 2026 appeared first on R. Couri Hay.

Amy Green 

The Green Vision  

 

Grammy-winner DJ Black Coffee, who has performed with Drake and Usher, and eco-philanthropist and designer Amy Green, Founder of The Green Vision, hosted a concert and dinner at Marea in Jayma Cardoso’s The Snow Lodge in The St. Regis Aspen. The elegant night featured a fashion show from Bronx Banco, who have dressed Jennifer Lopez, Millie Bobby Brown, and Lupita Nyong’o, and a preview of Green’s glamorous GIADA Vegetable Cashmere® collection. giadahaute.com 

HOW’S Luncheon 

Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper 

 

Honoree Christine Baranski, Andrea Stark, Louise and Joe Isidori, Robbi Toll, Liz Feuer, Wendy Topkis, Kimberly Paige Bluhm and Laine Siklos were among the guests at Hearing the Ovarian Cancer Whisper’s 24th “Time is of the Essence” Luncheon at The Beach Club, Palm Beach. HOW raises money for ovarian cancer research through the Dr. Robert C. Knapp Research Fellowship. The benefactors included Betsy Matthews, Eduarda Taylor, and Inlet Private Wealth. ovariancancerpbc.org 

Marcella Guarino Hymowitz 

Youth America Grand Prix 

 

Mick Jagger’s fiancé, former ABT ballerina Melanie Hamrick, and LoveShackFancy’s Founder, Rebecca Hessel Cohen, were honored at this year’s Youth America Grand Prix Gala at Lincoln Center’s David H. Koch Theater. Former dancer and Knicks cheerleader, Marcella Guarino Hymowitz reprised her role as the gala’s “Creative Chair” as over 100 global artists graced the stage, including Nicoletta Manni and Timofej Andrijashenko of La Scala Ballet and Berlin State Ballet’s Polina Semionova. yagp.org 

 

Utsav Celebrates  

The Bengali New Year 

 

Drew Barrymore, Bill Gates, Cynthia Nixon, Bernie Sanders and a long list of Bollywood stars including Tamannaah Bhatia have all enjoyed the Indian cuisine at Utsav in Times Square, which recently had a party to celebrate the Bengali New Year. Guests joined owner Nandita Khanna in enjoying a variety of unique Indian dishes, including their famous Kolkata Fish Fry, at the only spot in Manhattan to offer authentic Bengali cuisine. utsavny.com  

The post Hot Shots: Social Life Magazine 2026 appeared first on R. Couri Hay.

Round Hill’s Sugar Cane Ball

Matt Damon, his wife Luciana and their daughters, Isabella and Gia, joined a group of 280 swells, including Ricky and Ralph Lauren, at Round Hill in Jamaica. The exclusive resort opened in 1953 and has been a second home for everyone from Jackie and John Kennedy, Justin Bieber, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Selena Gomez, and Paul McCartney. The club held its annual Sugar Cane Ball, chaired for the fifth time by NYC shoe designer Vanessa Noel. This year’s event theme was “One Love Ball,” with all proceeds going to Hanover Charities, the oldest charity in Jamaica founded in 1957. Ralph and Ricky donated a shopping spree at their NYC Polo store, valued at $5,000, the night raised over $600k. Other guests included David Lauren and his wife Lauren Bush Lauren, Robert Pittman, Ambassador Brenda Johnson,  Meghan Hearst the daughter of Christine Hearst Schwarzman, the wife of Blackstone’s Stephen Schwarzman, whose family owns a house at Round Hill, and Josef Forstmayr, the Honorary Consul General for Austria who has run the resort for the last 37 years. roundhill.com

John Paulson’s 70th Birthday

Billionaire John Paulson celebrated his 70th birthday at a party hosted by his fiancée, Alina de Almeida, who is also the mother of his 1-year-old daughter, Jacqueline. Although Paulson owns a $110 million, 10-bedroom, 30,000-square-foot oceanfront mansion in Palm Beach, Alina gave the party at P.F. Chang’s, the popular Chinese restaurant Paulson owns in Palm Beach Gardens. Among the 150 friends enjoying the Chinese feast and acrobatic dancers were Dana and Robert Kraft, who owns the New England Patriots, Hilary and Wilbur Ross, the former Secretary of Commerce, Amy and Bret Baier, the Fox News anchor, Andrew and Steve Wynn, the Las Vegas casino owner, and fellow billionaire couples Christine and Steve Schwarzman, Kimberly and Neil Bluhm, Karen and Richard LeFrak, Suzanne and Woody Johnson, who owns the New York Jets, Lynne and Steve Ross, who owns the Miami Dolphins, and Amy and John Phelan, who is secretary of the Navy.

Kate, the Princess of Wales : Most Glamourous Woman of 2025

Kate, the Princess of Wales, in a gown by Jenny Packham at Windsor Castle, was crowned one of the 24 “most glamorous” women of 2025 by Tatler, an English magazine read by the rich and richer.  Also making the magazine’s celebration of “The Best Gowns of the Year” were several Americans, including Emma Stone in a Louis Vuitton sheath at the Venice Film Festival, Millie Bobby Brown in an Annie’s Ibiza gown at the premiere of “Electric State,” and Florence Pugh in Elie Saab at the opening of “Thunderbolts.” Three prominent New Yorkers made the prestigious list: Broadway producer Jordan Roth in Miss Sohee, Paris Hilton in Vivienne Westwood, and New York City’s gown-loving philanthropist Jean Shafiroff in a pale pink gown by Victor de Souza at the NY Women’s Foundation Gala. Jean tells me that she is writing a book about her extensive ballgown collection and the different charitable events where they had made appearances. Rounding out the list was actress Amanda Seyfried and Princess Caroline’s daughter, Princess Alexandra of Hanover who is also the granddaughter of Hollywood legend Grace Kelly, who married Prince Rainier of Monaco and became Princess Grace. jeanshafiroff.com

YOSHIKI & The Jonas Brothers

The Jonas Brothers’ US concerts on their “Greetings From Your Hometown Tour” were punctuated with celebrity guests, including Demi Lovato, Hanson, and John Legend.  For their recent final show at the Barclays Center the brothers invited international rock star YOSHIKI onstage to perform with them. The Japanese star, fresh off a flight from Tokyo, arrived mere minutes before his cue. He played a flawless piano rendition of the band’s hit “Fly with Me” as the brothers sang and danced alongside him while 18,000 fans cheered. The pop star, who has also collaborated with Bono, will.i.am, Queen, The Chainsmokers, and KISS, said, “This moment with the Jonas Brothers was pure magic and reminded me that music knows no borders.” Other musical guests included Norah Jones. yoshiki.net

Chaz Dean 25th Anniversary

Beauty star Chaz Dean, who has hair salons in Greenwich Village and Hollywood, is celebrating his 25th anniversary in the business.  His clients have included Brooke Shields, Alyssa Milano, Jennie Garth, Tori Spelling, and Julianna Margulies. Over the years Chaz has had some hair-raising moments like the time “Desperate Housewives” star Nicollette Sheridan raced to the American Music Awards and hit the red carpet with her then boyfriend, crooner Michael Bolton, with her hair still in mini curlers. It’s also a milestone for his “WEN Hair & Body Care” line, which has made him a star on QVC, where he is a fan favorite on millions of TVs. Chaz’s talents don’t stop at hair. Chaz’s self-tanning bronzing mist has become a celebrity go-to, most notably for RHONY’s Kelly Bensimon, who trusts Chaz exclusively for her signature, streak-free glow. chazdean.com

Harriet Newman Cohen

The conversation surrounding GLP-1 “miracle” drugs like Ozempic has shifted from what happens on the scale to what happens in the courtroom. Case in point: Amy Schumer, who kicked off her 2026 “year of self-care” by revealing a 50-pound loss on Mounjaro alongside the announcement of her divorce from Chris Fischer. From the physical deflation of the body to the total deflation of a marriage, rapid weight loss is proving to have consequences that extend far beyond a smaller waistline. Top divorce lawyer Harriet Newman Cohen of Cohen Stine Kapoor whose partners include her daughter Martha Cohen Stine, who is not involved with Schumer’s divorce, is seeing a recurring pattern. “When a spouse who was previously ‘invisible’ due to their weight suddenly becomes the center of attention, the marital power dynamic shifts. GLP-1s don’t just reduce appetite; they often boost mood and confidence, and a ‘new’ personality can feel like a stranger to a long-term partner.” According to Newman Cohen, “I have been involved in more than one case in which the massive loss of weight and the transformation of the loser into a winner was the single most notable factor in causing the breakup.” csklawny.com

Suzanne Somers & Alan Hamel

Suzanne Somers’ widower, producer Alan Hamel, made a secret visit to her final resting place in Palm Springs bearing a bouquet of white peonies, the Three’s Company legend’s favorite flower, as the sun set on Valentines Day. Hamel confided, “Suzanne would have wanted to be with me on Valentine’s Day,” adding, “Years ago, I said that with Valentine’s Day coming up I wanted to give you a present, one that would be memorable. She responded, ‘I don’t really need anything, but something shiny and big would certainly be appreciated. I would love that’” Hamel laughed and said, “So I gave her a waffle iron, the shiniest and the biggest one I could find.” She first reacted by calling me a jerk and then laughed so hard she started choking. And for the next few years she loved telling that story. It always started with, “In case you have ever wondered who Alan Hamel is, let me tell you.” Somers and Hamel were together for 55 years from when they met in 1963 until she died in 2023. They famously never spent a night apart in 40 years, they were married in 1977. Hamel continues to run their popular company, Suzanne Organics. suzannesomers.com

Dominicans on the Hill

Actor Manny Perez of NBC’S Third Watch co-starring Bobby Cannavale joined Dr. Ramon Tallaj, the founder of SOMOS Community Care, to celebrate the achievements of Dominican Americans at the annual Dominicans on the Hill Conference as they rallied in Washington, D.C. last week. Tallaj, who regularly works with baseball legends Marino Rivera, David “Big Papi” Ortiz, and Sammy Sosa to raise money for their Bronx community, delivered the keynote speech. somoscommunitycare.org

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The NAT Gala

Stella McCartney, Amy Green, Jane Fonda & Harrison Ford

 

Environmentalist Amy Green, the CEO of the Green Vision,joined her pal oceanographer Sylvia Earle, Harrison Ford, BillieEilish, Jane Fonda, and Stella McCartney were all in attendanceat the inaugural NAT Gala. THE NAT, a new entity dedicated tomobilizing capital for nature-positive initiatives, was created tounite culture and capital in addressing the $711 billion naturefinance gap. Taking place on the eve of the United NationsGeneral Assembly, the Gala marked a significant cultural andphilanthropic moment on the international climate calendar,raising critical funds for initiatives led by ConservationInternational, UNICEF, and Open Planet. Amy said, “I’m proudto be standing among some of the most powerful protectors ofour planet. My passion lies in educating people about what istruly happening in our world – and inspiring action on how wecan all make a difference.” It was a busy time for Amy, who livesbetween Aspen and NYC. She was also seen out and about attop-tier fashion week events, including a Ralph Lauren dinnerat the Polo Bar, a diamond launch dubbed “The Chopard IceCube Party” with the company’s president, Caroline Scheufele,and a front row seat at Natalie De-Banco’s Bronx and Bancofashion show. thenat.com

“MIRÓ/MATTA”

Galerie Gmurzynska

“Titanic” star Billy Zane, Deborah and Leon Black, photographer Lynn Goldsmith, jewelersLaurie Rodkin and Kayla Rockefeller, the Met Museum’s Max Hollein, MoMA’s Leah Dickerman,lighting guru Bentley Meeker, Amy Green, NYC mayoral candidate Joseph Hernandez,Alejandro Santo Domingo, Christine Mack, and cartoonist Christoph Niemann were among theguests who joined gallerist Isabelle Bscher, Krystyna Gmurzynska, Lucas Bscher, and MathiasRastorfer to celebrate the 60th Anniversary of Galerie Gmurzynska and the opening of their newspace in the Fuller Building on East 57th Street. Major works by Juan Miró and Roberto Mattaservedas the gallery’s inaugural exhibition titled “MIRÓ/MATTA.” Among the masterworks ondisplay was Miró’s Paysage, which was in a pivotal scene in the film Wall Street starring MichaelDouglas, Charlie Sheen, and Daryl Hannah. Also on hand was Roberto Matta’sdaughter,Federica Matta and Academy Award–nominated actor James Franco, who had his own room ofcontemporary paintings influenced by Hollywood and street art. The 7,000-square-foot spacehas multiple rooms and features a library designed by acclaimed fashion designer Jil Sander,whose clients include Drew Barrymore, Meg Ryan, and Tilda Swinton, that is filled withGmurzynska’s published books. After the opening, guests went downtown to Zero Bond for adinner hosted by Isabelle and the club’s owner Scott Sartiano. Galerie Gmurzynska

Style Across the Aisle

Former Governors Andrew Cuomo and David Patterson, City Councilmen Erik Bottcher,congress-women Carolyn Maloney and NY assembly member Rebecca Seawright were amongthe 30 elected politicians-turned-models who strutted the runway at Style Across the Aisle. Founded by Skye Ostreicher, the annual fashion show is where local designers dress electedofficials from their own communities for a bipartisan, high-impact runway experience. Taking place at the NY County Surrogate’s Court, this year’s nonprofit partner was Witness to Mass Incarceration. WITNESS is dedicated to fostering economic independence for formerly incarcerated, system-impacted and LGBTQ+ individuals. Sponsors included Airbnb, Uber, EmblemHealth, Aeon Nexus Corporation, Rethink Food, In The Room Media, and Beauty Social Salon. Following the show, guests celebrated with a lively cocktail reception at The Balcony at Surrogate’s Court. Guests enjoyed tasty bites from Rethink Food Partners, while sipping on craft cocktails shaken up with Blue Ice Vodka, JAJA Tequila, and fine pours from the Israeli Wine Producers Association. 

 intheroommedia.com 

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Playground of the Rich and Richer

Gstaad, the glamorous ski resort in the Swiss Alps long favored by European society swells, Hollywood stars and fashionistas, is the epitome of chic. Even today, with luxury boutiques lining the streets, the alpine village retains its old-world charm, with centuries-old chalets and horse-drawn carriages toting locals and visitors. 

Julie Andrews fell in love with Gstaad on her first visit in 1968, callng it the “last corner of heaven in a crazy world.” She later bought a chalet called “’Fleur de Lys” there, and for many years adorned the town with Christmas lights. She and her husband, Blake Edwards, founded a festival of film music, Cinemusic, in Gstaad in the mid-1990s, and in 2014 Andrews was named an honorary citizen in recognition of her cultural contributions to the region. 

Violinist Yehudi Menuhin resided there, and in 1957 founded a music academy and annual music festival that is still in operation today. 

Valentino, Princess Grace of Monaco, Liz Taylor, Richard Burton

Many other notable people have owned homes in Gstaad including Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier of Monaco, Peter Sellers, David Niven, Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, and Roger Moore. Fashion designer Valentino Garavani’s swanky Gstaad hideaway, Chalet Gifferhorn, complete with Lalanne sheep sculptures, was featured in the 2008 documentary about his life Valentino: The Last Emperor. 

Visitors over the years include the likes of Brigitte Bardot, Gianni Agnelli, Madonna, Leonardo DiCaprio, Tiger Woods and Paris Hilton. 

In the center of town a bronze sculpture of a cow – with a tap offering fresh water for passersby – is by the artist Liza Todd-Tivey, the daughter of Elizabeth Taylor and Mike Todd. 

Taki Theodoracopulos’s Delicious Snobbery

Slim Aarons loved photographing the comings and goings of the posh folks in Gstaad. Taki Theodoracopulos, the writer who famously chronicles high society with legendary acerbic wit, was an original member of Gstaad’s ultra exclusive, impossible-to-get-into Eagle Club, joining the year of its founding in 1957. Of course, Taki has strong opinions of the nouveaux riche who have colonized Gstaad.

In a 2015 article entitled “What Happened to Gstaad?” in The American Conservative, the magazine Taki co-founded, he complained about what he considers the downward slide of the Eagle’s memership, saying: “After close to 60 years of raising hell and boozing it up in the sun, I am now reduced to keeping out Russians and Arabs, although one or two of the latter have managed to slip by me.” He also took aim at the visitors in town as well: “In Gstaad during the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s, familiar figures on the slopes were people like William F. Buckley, David Niven, Sir Roger Moore, Henri Cartier Bresson, Dmitri Nabokov, even Lord Menuhin, the great Yehudi. The rot began when Elizabeth Taylor bought a chalet and the paparazzi following her discovered the place. The ensuing publicity made Gstaad and other such resorts the targets of social climbers the world over.”

He lamented the closure of Gstaad’s small indepent stores like cheese shops, butchers and a bookstore. “Fifty years on there are only Cartier, Ralph Lauren, Prada, Chanel, and about three banks. The bookstore was the first to be abolished once people who could count up to a billion but who were illiterate began to frequent the place.” And he griped that the town’s beloved Olden restaurant, run by one family for five generations, was sold to Bernie Ecclestone, “the greedy midget billionaire who runs Formula One.”

Taki also once told a local journalist that he much preferred Gstaad in the 1950s and 60s. “Then, when we were in Switzerland, we acted Swiss. We played by the rules. We didn’t drive fast, or fight, or show off, or break the law. It made Gstaad unique. These pigs that come here now…Europe has given in to money. Once we let it in, there’s no going back.” Upon moving to a new chalet in a more isolated area away from crowds, Taki explained that he couldn’t stand to “hear Ferraris zooming by” his old place any more. 

Note that despite his griping Taki hasn’t left Gstaad, so apparently enough of the old money elite remain to keep him there. 

The Palace Hotel

The reason that Gstaad has been able to retain its small-town charm amidst all this glamour is simply local zoning. In 1955, the government declared that all new construction had to adhere to the local chalet style, keeping over-the-top development in check despite the piles of cash homeowners are armed with.

The one exception is the Palace Hotel, which was built in 1913, well before this law was in place. Resembling a turreted fairytale castle atop a hill above the village, the family-owned Palace is considered the center of Gstaad. It oozes elegance – sports jackets are requited at dinner – but in true Gstaad style, it maintains a sense of understated luxury. The ambience, with white-jacketed staff, Venetian chandeliers, and a grand lobby bar, is delightfully unstuffy. And with four restaurants, a huge pool area, ski slopes just outside and even an on-site underground nightclub, guests don’t need to go far to stay entertained here. 

However, it’s not remote, you can easily access the village with a short stroll down a wooded path or a quick shuttle ride to the train station. And the views from the rooms and suites are spectacular.

The place is also full of history. British field marshal Bernard Montgomery set up dinner parties here, which he ended promptly at ten o’clock, telling his guests, “Gentlemen, the night was made for sleeping.” In the 1960s, the Palace hotel hosted a gala party with Louis Armstrong and Marlena Dietrich. Prominent guests over the years have included Margaret Thatcher, Kofi Annan, Elton John, Paul McCartney, Diana Ross, Sean Connery, Sophia Loren, Quentin Tarantino, and Jimmy Carter.

Facilities include the fabulous GreenGo club, still with its original 1970s décor, and still stylish, that has hosted the likes of Princess Diana, Tina Turner and Madonna. There’s a health spa with the Palace’s friendly, comfortable atmosphere, featuring a hammam and a lovely circular fireplace. In warmer months guests have access to tennis courts, an Olympic-sized pool and the hotel’s mountain retreat, the Welig Hut. 

Dining at the Palace Hotel

Le Grand Restaurant and La Grande Terrasse are the main dining spots at the Palace, serving haute cuisine in a relaxed setting overlooking beatufully manicured gardens amidst mountain peaks. Le Grill, the hotel’s award-winning fine-dining restaurant with a refined yet unpretentious ambience, features international dishes made with fresh local ingredients. 

La Fromagerie, a fondue restaurant, is set in a former World War II bunker. Gildo’s, the Palace’s high-end Italian spot, is named for Gildo Bocchini, the hotel’s legendary maître d’ who had welcomed and cooked for guests for nearly 50 years.

The Palace’s Walig Hut makes for a unique private dining experience in a no-frills, 200-year-old alpine hut up in the mountains. A vertigo-inducing drive up into the Alps brings you to the venue situated next to a field of grazing cows, chiming with Switzerland’s trademark cowbells. The Walig Hut’s fare is simple, alpine style comfort food; think veal, potatoes and vegetables. You can even arrange an overnight stay at the hut. 

The Alpina Gstaad 

Debuting in 2012, the Alpina was the first luxury hotel to open in Gstaad in a hundred years. Given the town’s strict building codes, it took the French and Swiss owners 15 years to complete the six story hotel. And it was well worth the effort. This sophisticated haven with its eco-friendly design, Switzerland’s only Six Senses spa and Michelin-starred restaurants is magical. 

The subterranean tunnel entryway feels like a setting in a James Bond film, while the lobby—with its contemporary artwork, double-height ceilings, and sleek central staircase—is clad in reclaimed wood. 

The Alpina aspired to be the finest hotel in Switzerland, and the service is exellent, but understated, in true Gstaad style. 

The rooms

The Alpina’s 56 timber-walled rooms and suites are a mix of contemporary and traditional design. Think abstract paintings, marble bathrooms with large soaking tubs, carved wooden ceilings and lamps made of embroidered leather cowbell straps. Gas fireplaces are a cozy touch as are the warm woolen slippers which you are encouraged to take home. 

Dining at Alpina

The Alpina’s five exceptional restaurants are overseen by Michelin-starred executive chef Martin Göschel. Among them is his namesake dining spot, Martin Göschel, which uses Swiss proteins exclusively – all meats, fish and dairy products are local. Also on site is Japanese Megu, where chef Tsutomu Kugota offers sushi, sashimi, and cooked dishes with top-notch ingredients like Kagero wagyu beef. Swiss Monti features sharing style dining with tableside preparation, creative salads, and don’t miss the Swiss cheese cart. The Aplina Lounge and Terrace has classic cuisine for casual lunches and dinners, plus a fine selection of cocktails with gorgeous mountain views. 

Breakfast

The Alpina’s breakfast buffet is simply stellar, offered indoors and on the terrace when weather permits. The sumptuous offerings include classics like eggs Florentine, eggs Benedict, golden waffles and pancakes, and fresh baked breads and pastries. There’s a variety of cheeses and cold cuts, plus health-concsious options like meusli, homemade yogurt and fruits. Truly a fabulous morning indulgence.

Six Senses Spa

The Alpina’s Six Senses Spa with its salt grotto, main pool, hot tubs, plunge pools and steam caves is divine. At over 20,000 square feet, this luxuirous oasis of calm has a warm, welcoming feel with stone floors and a vast indoor pool bathed in naural light from above. There are separate steam, sauna and hydrotherapy spaces for men and women, plus a heated outdoor pool surrounded by pine trees. The best place to go for post-skiing achy muscles is the outdoor heated pool, where in winter puffs of steam waft into the air.

Treatments on offer include rejuvenating massages ranging from shiatsu to Thai, nourishing facials, body treatments and holistic anti-aging therapies. Try the comprehensive wellness programs which include a Tibetan healing retreat and a three-day yoga-focused sleep retreat to revitalize and restore. 

The Chesery Restaurant at Le Grand Bellevue

It came as a great shock to Gstaad’s restaurant scene in 2020 when it was announced that the beloved Chesery was sold and would close after 35 years under chef Robert Speth. Happily, Le Grand Bellevue Hotel snapped up chef Speth to help oversee all of its dining spots, and Chesery’s menu lives on at Leonard’s. The Bellevue’s statement reads, in part: “On behalf of the entire Chesery team, we would like to thank you for your year-long patronage, loyalty, and trust. We look forward to serving you at Le Grand Bellevue… keeping the Chesery’s spirit alive, you will find a variety of its’ traditional dishes in our Leonard’s menu.”

At Leonard’s, nee Chesery, a modern bistro in tones of mint and cream, you’ll find a wide array of sharing plates and dishes including tender beef fillet, risottos and pastas, osso buco, a whole roasted chicken and much more. Leave room for the sumptuous desserts and terrific cheeses. 

What to do in Gstaad

Believe it or not, many come to Gstaad for the hotels, food, shopping and people watching. The charming village with its pedestrianized cobblestone streets and flower-bedecked shops is perfect for wandering, popping into shops and sipping hot cocoa. It’s especially magical at Christmas time, and equally delightful in summer. 

However, the skiing is superb, so by all means take to the slopes, whether at the top of Eggli or channelling your inner James Bond while slaloming down the Wasserngrat’s Tiger Run. Insider tip: Gstaad’s 120 miles of ski slopes are relatively quiet even in peak season, since many visitors really do come to enjoy everything else the village has to offer. And in summer, Gstaad is equally alluring, bursting with festivals, arts and outdoor activities like hiking, biking and swimming. The hills are alive, as they say. 

Arts haven

In February 2025 Simon de Pury, the art dealer and Phillips Auction House owner, declared in his Artnet News column that Gstaad has become the “art world’s ultimate winter playground.” De Pury described his two weeks in the alpine resort as a “nonstop program of cultural happenings, exhibitions, lectures, openings, private dinners, parties, after-parties, and after-after-parties” that forced him to make ultra-tough choices. “I now need a holiday to recover from these holidays,” he quipped.

Gstaad’s reputation as a sleepy village is now a myth, he insisted, adding that “the intensity of Gstaad life these past days could only compare with Miami Beach during Art Basel or New York during the main auction weeks.”

He noted that Gstaad has only in recent years become a hub of artistic activity, and after some softness in the art market, the resort’s wealth makes it prime territory. Gstaad’s glitzier neighbor, St. Moritz, had previously been the center of the art world in the Alps, with dealers like Galerie Gmurzynska, Hauser and Wirth, and Vito Schnabel all opening locations there. 

The center of gravity began to move to Gstaad in 2014, he said, with rhe first edition of art show Elevation 1049. In 2025, the Luma Foundation produced the 6th iteration with works of 14 international contemporary artists. In 2018, Larry Gagosian staged his first temporary exhibition in Gstaad, and in 2021 opened a permanent gallery in the center of town. Since 2015, Hauser and Wirth has been using the Gstaad chalet of the late photographer Gunter Sachs as an exhibiton space. 

The Maze Art Gstaad show took place for the second time this year, in February. Dealer Joe Nahmad took over a Gstaad venue this winter and tapped Edward Enninful, former British Vogue editor, to curate an exhibition called “Calder in Flight”. Leonardo DiCaprio attended the opening dinner. 

Check out more travel stories here. 

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By R. Couri Hay  

Gala’s Galore  

Neil Patrick Harris & God’s Love We Deliver, The Watermill Center,  Claire Danes @ The Whitney, Tory burch @ MoMA,  Marilyn Monroe @ Carlton Fine Arts & Karen LeFrak @ The Phil  

 God’s Love We Deliver’s Midsummer Night Drinks 

God’s Love We Deliver’s (GLWD) annual Midsummer Night Drinks has become one of the most beloved events of the Hamptons season. This year’s benefit will take place on Saturday, July 26, at the home of Neil Patrick Harris and his husband, David Burtka, a member of GLWD’s Culinary Council. Guests will enjoy performance art, lawn games, and whimsical surprises. All funds raised will be used to provide and deliver prepared food to people who are too sick to shop or cook for themselves. glwd.org   

Robert Wilson’s Watermill Center 

Isabella Rossellini and architect Francis Kéré will be honored at The Watermill Center’s Annual Summer Benefit on July 25 and 26, 2025. The extravagant event supports the organization’s year-round programming, including artist residencies, education initiatives, and public programs. The always-fun event will kick off with an Artist Dinner on Friday, July 25, followed by performances, exhibitions, a grazing dinner, and cocktails on Saturday, July 26. watermillcenter.org  

The Whitney Gala  

Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy, Andie MacDowell, Stephanie March, and “White Lotus” stars Leslie Bibb and Michelle Monaghan were among the celebrities at The Whitney Museum of American Art’s annual gala. The event honored acclaimed painter Amy Sherald, best known for her portrait of former First Lady Michelle Obama. “When I first began painting portraits, I wasn’t trying to make history,” said Sherald, whose moving canvases document the contemporary African American experience in the United States. “I just wanted to offer images that looked like the world I came from—ordinary and extraordinary at the same time.” Leading the applause were Chairman of the Board and honoree Richard DeMartini; fellow board member and billionaire Neil Bluhm with his glamorous wife, Kimberly Paige Bluhm; Nicky Hilton Rothschild; Jeff Koons; Susan Hess; designer Wes Gordon; architect TC Chou; Laurie Tisch; and Tom Sachs with his wife, Sarah Hoover. Whitney curator Barbara Haskell was also honored. The well-heeled crowd sang along with Grammy Award–winning group TLC when they performed their hit single “Creep.” The museum, which is celebrating its 10th anniversary at its Meatpacking District location, raised a record-breaking $6 million. It was also announced that an additional gift of $1 million from songwriter Judy Hart Angelo would support the museum’s free admission program for visitors aged 25 and under.  whitney.org 

The Museum of Modern Art 

The Museum of Modern Art remains a beacon for the visionaries who helped shape it. Chief among them is Glenn Lowry, MoMA’s outgoing David Rockefeller Director, who will retire this year after an extraordinary 30-year tenure. The museum honored him at its recent Party in the Garden. Guests included MoMA President Sarah Arison; Chair Marie-Josée Kravis; Michael Bloomberg; Agnes Gund; Michael Ovitz; Jimmy Choo’s Tamara Mellon; Marina Abramović; and artists LaToya Ruby Frazier and Derrick Adams. This year’s benefit was sponsored by Tory Burch, who dressed several attendees, including art patron Sarah Hoover. The celebration was set against exhibitions by Jack Whitten, Otobong Nkanga, and Hilma af Klint. The party unfolded across the museum’s garden and lobby, with flattering and creative lighting by Bentley Meeker. Lowry took to the mic and said, “I never imagined this journey would last this long or be so rewarding.” moma.org 

An Ode to Marilyn @ Carlton Fine Arts 

Marilyn Monroe would have turned 99 years old this summer. The iconic bombshell’s co-stars included Jane Russell, Cary Grant, and Ginger Rogers. Images of Monroe continue to be the highest-selling celebrity portraits of all time. In 2022, Andy Warhol’s portrait titled Turquoise Marilyn sold for $195 million. Warhol once said, “As for whether it’s symbolic to paint Monroe in such vibrant colors: it’s beauty, and she’s beautiful, and if something’s beautiful it’s pretty colors, that’s all.” To celebrate the sex symbol’s life and legacy, Charles Saffati of Carlton Fine Arts is presenting An Ode to Marilyn, an exhibition featuring works by Warhol and fellow pop artists DeVon, Mr. Brainwash, Romero Britto, and Patrick Rubenstein. DeVon told me, “I see Marilyn Monroe as the quintessential emblem of Hollywood’s golden era. There’s something about Marilyn that echoes within all of us: a haunting blend of beauty and fragility, light and loneliness. For me, she is more than an icon—she is a thread that ties together personal memory, cultural myth, and the quiet ache of what might have been.” The exciting show, which runs until the end of June, is spread out over two floors and features 24 portraits of the star by ten artists. Saffati said, “Over the last 40 years, the images of Marilyn Monroe have consistently been our biggest seller, with numerous pop artists painting her in their own unique way.” carltonfa.com 

New York Philharmonic 

Bradley Cooper and Bill Pullman, who starred in “While You Were Sleeping” with Sandra Bullock, led the parade of VIPs to hear Broadway star Sutton Foster perform at the New York Philharmonic’s celebratory Gala. Conductor Michael Rafter made his debut and led the orchestra’s stirring rendition of Leonard Bernstein’s “Candide”. Foster sang “Till There Was You” by The Beatles, a wide range of American Songbook favorites, and selections from her hit show “Anything Goes”, enriched by heartfelt reflections on her career and motherhood. The night, which raised 1.8 million dollars, honored Marjorie and Gurnee Hart and celebrated his 50 years of service on the Phil’s Board of Directors. The Gala Co-Chairs were James and Margo Nederlander and Kristen and Alexander Klabin. Guests included Co-Chairman of the Phil, Oscar Tang, and Peter May, architect TC Chou, and top plastic surgeon Dr. Bianca Molina. nyphil.org 

                                                 Composer Karen LeFrak 

Grammy-winning guitarist Sharon Isbin, the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, and composer Karen LeFrak have released “Romántico,” a new CD of world premiere recordings. LeFrak, the wife of real estate tycoon Richard LeFrak, has composed over two hundred pieces and released 17 albums that have received over 45 million streams since 2021. She has also had her works performed by orchestras around the world, including the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. Her next work, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, has been commissioned by the National Symphony Orchestra in Washington, D.C., and will be performed next year. The new CD is available on all platforms, including Spotify, Amazon, and at karenlefrak.com. 

Safari Roundup 

Foursome, a new Turkish restaurant, whose name references its four owners Haldun Kilit, Kaan Sekban, Tuba Demircioglu, and Oya Mungan, is serving up critically acclaimed Mediterranean fare at 9 Jones Street. The new hot spot, which features dishes including braised short rib and sumac-crusted salmon, is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Their rainbow-colored pancakes, celebrating Pride Month, have gone viral on Instagram ig: @foursome.nyc …. Anne Hathaway, Michael J. Fox, and Guiy Richie have all enjoyed the cuisine of Chef Evangelos Ktistakis who is now the executive chef of Gaia, new glam mediterran restaurant located at 42 West 35th Street. gaiarestaurant.com 

Check out latest parties and gossip by R. Couri Hay here

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Jude Law, Ann Dexter- Jones, Mark Ronson, Andy Warhol, James Franco, Bella Hadid, Peter Thomas Roth, Julia Haart 

Ann Dexter-Jones’s Star-Studded Birthday Bash

Writer Fran Lebowitz, Blaine Trump, and music legend Nile Rodgers were among the friends who gathered to celebrate jeweler Ann Dexter-Jones’s birthday at the Clemente Bar. Her husband, Mick Jones of Foreigner, welcomed guests including Dorinda Medley, artist Marsia Holzer, and designers Francisco Costa, Wes Gordon, and Vanessa Noel at Eleven Madison Park.

Ann’s famous children were also there: music producer Mark Ronson, DJ Samantha Ronson, and actress Annabelle Dexter-Jones, who stars in Succession and is engaged to Eleven Madison Park’s chef/owner Daniel Humm. Ann quipped, “In order for my new son-in-law to marry my daughter, he offered to give me this party. How convenient is that?”

She also revealed she’s working on a book: “I was going to wait until some people died, but not everyone was cooperating, so my children told me to just tell the truth.” With stories involving Paul McCartney and Mick Jagger, Ann promises an entertaining read. Music for the evening was provided by her son Mark Ronson, and Annabelle and Humm brought out the cake, as guests sang “Happy Birthday” — even in a room full of rock royalty.

Southampton Arts Center Celebrates 250 Years of the American Flag

The Southampton Arts Center (SAC) launched Memorial Day weekend with a powerful exhibition titled “Independency: The American Flag at 250 Years,” curated by historian John Monsky. The show tells the story of America through rare flags — from one commissioned by Martha Washington in 1775 to flags flown on the Apollo moon missions.

Divided into four galleries — Introduction, Campaigns, Parades, and Protests, Vietnam and the Moon, and Sacrifice — the exhibition blends historical artifacts with photos and drawings. It invites visitors to reflect on the flag’s enduring place in American identity.

The show runs through July 19th. SAC’s co-founders are Simone Levinson and J. Whitney Stevens, with notable supporters including Hilary and Wilbur Ross, Jamee and Peter Gregory, Bently Meeker, and Jean Shafiroff.
southamptonartscenter.org

James Franco’s “Hollywood is Hell” in Zurich

In Zurich, artist and actor James Franco debuted his provocative new show “Hollywood is Hell” at the Galerie Gmurzynska, a collaboration with Lucas Bscher. Featuring 28 large-scale canvases and assemblages, the exhibit reflects the gritty chaos of Los Angeles during COVID — a visual narrative Franco calls “a portrait of LA.”

Franco explains, “It’s really my young actor self being repurposed and put into the collages.” Known for his multidisciplinary practice, Franco has exhibited at MOCA Los Angeles, Pace, and Gagosian. This new show continues his exploration of celebrity, memory, and artistic identity.
gmurzynska.com

Jude Law Transforms into Putin for New Film

Jude Law is nearly unrecognizable on set in Riga, Latvia, filming The Wizard of the Kremlin with Alicia Vikander, Paul Dano, and Zach Galifianakis. Law portrays Vladimir Putin in a political drama tracing his rise after the Soviet collapse.

Thomas Pierce, an executive producer on the film and founder of the Children’s Oncology Support Fund (COSF), reports that Law’s performance is already generating Oscar buzz. Pierce later hosted a COSF party during the Cannes Film Festival at the Martinez Hotel, with guests including William Abadie, Keni Silva, and Mohamed Hadid.

Pierce also produced the Oscar-winning film The Brutalist, and Silva was honored by the Better World Fund Gala for her work with COSF.
cosffoundation.org

Colette Lumiere: The Artist Who Became Her Art

Legendary performance artist Colette Lumiere, who once dated Jeff Koons and was part of Andy Warhol’s Factory, opened her latest show at Company Gallery on Elizabeth Street. Famous for her satin-covered “living installations,” Colette’s work has appeared in MoMA, the Guggenheim, and PS1.

Attendees included Julia Haart, Adriane Stark, and Nevil Dwek. She’s also the subject of a new documentary, Colette: Beautiful Dreamer, by Emmy-nominated director Nick Hampson. The film was inspired by a chapter in Jennifer Clement’s memoir The Promised Party, where she writes, “Colette is a woman who turned herself into art.”
collectcolette.com

Peter Thomas Roth’s Mother Turns 102 in Vegas Style

Skincare mogul Peter Thomas Roth celebrated his mother Carole Roth’s 102nd birthday with a private jet trip to Las Vegas, joined by 17 family members and Julia Lemigova of Real Housewives of Miami. The fun kicked off at Chippendales, where Carole received lap dances so spicy they were banned from TikTok.

Carole, a former QVC model, was spotted gambling until 2 a.m. at The Wynn, where she won $1,500 playing poker. She also caught a performance of Michael Jackson: ONE, and received her first Birkin bag from her son — a dream come true at 102!
peterthomasroth.com

Check out more latest parties here . Read the Summer Issue of Park Magazine Here

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      Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte

The Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte, a 17th-century gem near Paris, inspired Versailles. Designed by Louis Le Vau, André Le Nôtre, and Charles Le Brun, it’s called “Versailles without the crowds.” After Nicolas Fouquet, France’s Superintendent of Finances, expanded the estate and hosted a lavish party to impress King Louis XIV, a rival accused him of misusing public funds. Consequently, Fouquet was arrested, imprisoned for life, and his wife exiled. Impressed, Louis XIV hired the same designers for Versailles and seized Vaux-le-Vicomte’s tapestries, statues, and orange trees for his grander palace.

Happier Future; Family-owned

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte had a few other owners in its long history, and had been neglected for 30 years by 1875 when Alfred Sommier bought it and began a massive restoration of the house and gardens, which was completed by his descendants. Today, the fifth generation of the same family still owns the chateau, one of France’s greatest historical monuments, which is open to the public. 

“When my family took over the property in 1875 the place was pretty much empty except for two tables and four busts that remained from the Fouquet time, the 17th century, because the king and Jean-Baptistie Colbert, who was prime minister at the time, took pretty much everything and put it in Versailles,” said Alexandre de Vogüé, who, with his brothers Jean-Charles and Ascanio, own and run the Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte. 

One of France’s Best Kept Secrets

With 100 rooms on 1,200 acres of land and 350,000 yearly visitors, Vaux-le-Vicomte is dwarfed by Versailles’ 2,300 rooms, 2,000-acre gardens and 7 million annual visitors.

Vaux-le-Vicomte has always been off the beaten track, de Vogüé said. “You have to know about French history during Louis XIV, you have to be quite curious about chateaus and gardens, in general, to really know about Vaux,” he explained. The chateau will never be a place ot mass tourism, like Versailles. The de Vogüés strive to grow annual visitors to a maximum of 500,000. “More than that, the wear and tear would be too damaging to Vaux,” he said. It offers more of an exclusive experience to visitors and donors. “Because there’s a family; I think that’s the biggest difference,” de Vogüé said. “Since the 17th century, there’s always been a family living here and it’s a home before anything else. And I think that’s what people really appreciate here, there is this soul, this “je ne sais quoi,” as we say in French, that makes this place quite special.”

Grand, but also Intimate

All of the chateau’s important rooms are open to visitors. The family members reside in outbuildings on the estate. The sculptures, paintings, furniture, carpets, tapestries, china and silverware were bought by de Vogüé’s great-great-grandfather. The proprietors plan to publish a book on the home’s decorative arts collections by the end of the year. 

“There’s a very human scale to the house. It’s grand, but but it’s also intimate, not a palace like Versailles, which can be a bit cold and dry; impossible to imagine living there,” he said. “At Vaux-le-Vicomte, because it was done for a family, people really like the fact that they could imagine themselves having a drink or a tea in one of those rooms, because it has this very intimate and human scale.”

Notable Gardens

The formal gardens have been returned to their original state as laid out by Le Nôtre in the 17th century, framing the chateau in what is considered one of the greatest examples of harmony between nature and the built environment. The ambitious landscape design, with 62 statues, twenty-two fountains, wide pebble alleys, basins, grottoes and a canal, was groundbreaking at the time. “Vaux-le-Vicomte was the first time that a landscape designer oversaw the entire project—the gardens, the fountains, the water, everything. Le Nôtre was given carte blanche. And what he did was a real rupture with what had been done before,” garden historian Frédéric Sichet told AD in 2013, when his book about the grounds, “André Le Nôtre à Vaux-le-Vicomte,” was published. 

A subterranean river is to open to the public next year. Those who choose to walk the gardens may take a walking stick. Visitors can also rent electric golf carts to explore the property. 

Romantic Candlelight Evening

Every Saturday evening during the warm season, the grounds are lit with 2,000 candles, and there are fireworks at the end of the evening. You can come to dine outdoors – the outdoor ephemeral restaurant is fully booked from the beginning of the season – or simply wander the grounds and have a picnic. “It’s quite magical,” said de Vogüé. “People can eat at this restaurant, al fresco, facing the garden. It’s a very simple idea that my parents created, just to give a very humble idea of what it was like at the party of inauguration that Fouquet threw in 1661. But people absolutely love it, because it’s so romantic and so beautiful.”

During the evening, guests can also wander through the chateau, whose interiors are also set with romantic lighting, and come back outside for the fireworks. 

Christmas & Easter

They started having a special Christmas program 19 years ago, and now it’s the chateau’s biggest season, attracting 120,000 visitors. The decor requires artisans to decorate in a very short period of time to minimize closure. “We close only 10 days in November, to set up. And people now from Paris and even from abroad are coming to our Christmas, because it’s beginning to be quite well known.”

And the de Vogüé family has been somewhat pioneering in establishing a restaurant and gift shop in the 1960s, which back then did not exist in France at historic homes. “It was very rare, but my parents really wanted to share this place with the public and create a vivid experience,” he said. “They were already thinking about experience, which today is everybody’s plan, but at that time it was really not the case.” Now, he noted, many chateaus do Christmas, as do famous gardens, like Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania, which de Vogüé had recently visited when we spoke for this article.

Easter is the biggest weekend of the year, attracting 10,000 people over three days. French bureaucracy once reared its head, de Vogüé recalled, when on Easter Sunday at 11am a whole crew of government administrators showed up unannounced for an inspection. They had to close for two hours since all employees had to stop working while they inspected hygiene, security and safety measures. Everything was fine, fortunately, but he said, laughing, that is France sometimes. “I don’t know if it happens in the U.S., but it was very scary.”

80 Movie Shoots; Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette, YSL

Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte has been the setting for about 80 movies and TV shows over the years, the first in 1968 by director Orson Welles. The James Bond Moonraker movie had scenes there, as did the TV series Versailles, and it stood in for Versailles in Sofia Coppola’s Marie Antoinette. Very often the chateau is used for Versailles scenes, de Vogüé explained, because it’s very complicated to shoot at Versailles.

There haven’t been any fashion shows at the estate, but during the covid pandemic, when live runway shows were replaced by video presentations, several important designers, including Celine and Yves Saint Laurent, chose to film their collections at Vaux-le-Vicomte.  

American Friends of Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte

Alexandre de Vogüé set up an American Friends of the chateau charitable organization to help raise funds for ongoing restoration and maintenance at the urging of his late aunt, who was director of development for the New York City Ballet. When Alexandre joined the chateau in 2011 after 20 years working as a mountain guide, she insisted it would be a success. “She really helped me, introduced me to her circle of friends and donors.”

Peter Marino Hosted October Gala

In October, famed architect Peter Marino co-hosted the chateau’s glamorous fundraising gala along with Louis Vuitton CEO Pietro Beccari and philanthropist Christine Schwarzman. Marino is an old friend of Alexandre’s mother, Countess Cristina de Vogüé. Their friendship was the reason Marino decided to help out. “She hasn’t had the easiest time because her husband died and just did not leave a sufficient fortune to maintain such a large estate,” Marino said. “So they really do need to make these fundraising efforts and I can’t think of anything more worth it.”

Vaux-le-Vicomte only began holding galas in 2018 – last year’s was hosted by Christian Louboutin, also a close family friend – and Marino, a perfectionist, was hands-on with preparations. The leather-clad architect also gave the de Vogüés solid advice, including to hold the galas every other year, which makes it more desirable, and also easier for Americans to fly over, lessons he learned as longtime chairman of Venetian Heritage. 

“Little by little, we are putting Vaux-le-Vicomte onto a certain map, to raise the awareness about this place, to raise awareness of our mission,” said de Vogüé. “And that’s the whole point, that people realize how special this place is.” And those attending the galas, he said, fall in love. “They had no idea about the story that Vaux-Vicomte has with Versailles. And they realize it’s a whole huge enterprise to maintain this place, and they want to help. It gives us hope for the future.”

vaux-le-vicomte.com

About the author:

R. Couri Hay is Social Life’s travel editor and society columnist. He began his career at Andy Warhol’s Interview and has written for Town & Country and People. Hay also appears on CNN, PBS, Fox, and VH1 commenting on Hollywood.
He lives in New York City and Southampton and is the CEO of his own PR firm.

The post Château de Vaux-le-Vicomte: France’s Best Kept Secrets appeared first on R. Couri Hay.

Holiday House Palm Beach Taking It to the Table

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Holiday House held its Tabletop Event at the Colony Hotel in Palm Beach, raising funds for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. The event was founded by Iris Dankner, a breast cancer survivor. The Chairs were Sarah Wetenhall, Jayne Chase, Campion Platt, and Andrea Stark, with Jean Shafiroff serving as Philanthropy Chair. Designers featured included Lugano Diamonds with Lewis Miller, Jennifer McGrath for Ashley Stark Home, and Arhaus x Timeless Oak Designs. holidayhousenyc.com

Ovarian Cancer Whisper Time is the Essence Luncheon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hearing the Ovarian Cancer’s Whisper,  Florida held its 23rd Time is of the Essence Luncheon in Palm Beach. The benefit honored Isaac Mizrahi and featured a conversation with beauty industry trailblazer Adrien Arpel and Co-Chair Andrea Stark.  Arpel shared her beauty secrets and entrepreneurial insights centered around positivity and resilience. Other chairs included Eddy Taylor, Judy Snyder, and Roberta Kozloff. Frances Fisher, Betsy Matthews, and Christine Schott served as Honorary Chairwomen.  ovariancancerpbc.org/.

Tri County Animal Rescue Peppermint Bark & Brunch

 

 

 

 

Andrea Stark, Adrien Arpel, Lois Pope, Farley Rentschler, Diana Retzer, and Tri County Animal Rescue’s founder, Suzi Goldsmith, hosted their 10th Annual Peppermint Bark & Brunch at the Trump International in Palm Beach.  “ We have provided rescue missions for dogs left at the border, and abandoned during hurricanes Helene and Milton,”  said Stark. TCAR is a no-kill shelter that provides a safe haven for animals in need. Goldsmith’s motto is “RESCUE, REHABILITATION, RE-HOME!” tricountyanimalrescue.com

About the author:

R. Couri Hay is Social Life’s travel editor and society columnist. He began his career at Andy Warhol’s Interview and has written for Town & Country and People. Hay also appears on CNN, PBS, Fox, and VH1 commenting on Hollywood.
He lives in New York City and Southampton and is the CEO of his own PR firm.

The post Hot Shots: Inside the Season’s Standout Events appeared first on R. Couri Hay.

Holiday Fete

By R. Couri Hay

James Franco, Cornelia Guest, Peter Marino, Anna Wintour, Blaine Trump, Sam Smith, Princess Yasmin Aga Khan, Doubles, Henry Street & Aphrodise

James Franco & Galerie Gmurzynska

Academy Award nominated actor James Franco, 46, has returned to his visual roots to create a new show of collages called “Hollywood is Hell” at Isabelle Bscher’s Galerie Gmurzynska in Zurich. The show, two years in the making, consists of 28 shocking canvases and objets d’art appearing as destroyed posters on the street walls of some dirty area in LA. Franco says “These collages represent a portrait of Los Angeles during Covid. The streets were empty, the posters damaged on the walls… It was sort of an almost post-apocalyptic atmosphere. I lived at that time near the Hollywood cemetery, where so many stars are buried, and I was walking there. Dreamland had become for me a wasteland.” The exhibition can also be viewed on the gallery’s website, gmurzynska.com. Franco, who will be in Zurich for the opening, told me “We are in a world that is saturated with different forms of media; we spend half our lives engaged with different forms of social media, entertainment media, and work-related media. Television, movies, video games, and the Internet have woven themselves into the fabric of our lives; their influence has helped shape who we are.” The star who has won two Golden Globes for his role in The Disaster Artist and as James Dean has appeared in nearly 100 films and series since he was 16 and has a PhD in English from Yale.

This is not Franco’s first show, he had an exhibit at MOCA Los Angeles called Rebel in 2012, with Paul McCarthy, Douglas Gordon, and Ed Ruscha as well as shows at the Pace and Gagosian galleries. For his new show, Franco revisited works he had made when he was twenty and intervened in them today. “Collaging all those different mediums and forms of expression: this is my way.” he said adding “I started to make collages of new canvases on old canvases, then I repaint over them, so it becomes a kind of collage of my younger self with the new self. But the younger self was also in a way a product of Hollywood, when I was mostly an actor. So it is really my young actor self being sort of repurposed and put into the collages.” Bscher told me “This exhibition works as a kind of mirror of the artist-actor’s permanent quest for authenticity.”

Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte

Famed architect Peter Marino — who redesigned Tiffany’s on Fifth Avenue —, billionaires Christine and Stephen Schwarzman, and Louis Vuitton’s chairman Pietro Beccari hosted a black tie ball at the Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte outside of Paris. Countess Patrice de Vogüé, who owns the 17th century estate — which was the inspiration for Louis the 14th’s Versailles — welcomed two hundred of the jet set including shoe designer Christian Louboutin in a red fez, jeweler Paloma Picasso, Tom Ford designer Haider Ackermann, actresses Marisa Berenson and Cornelia Guest, Isabelle Marino, Susan Gutfreund, Eugenia Bullock, and architect Norman Foster. The evening raised over 1.6 million to help restore the Chateau’s 22 fountains. vaux-le-vicomte.com

God’s Love We Deliver

Sarah Jessica Parker, Meg Thee Stallion, Cole Escola and Pat Costello were among the honorees at the God’s Love We Deliver (GLWD) Gold Heart Awards at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine. The organization is NYC’s only nonprofit provider of medically tailored meals for individuals living with severe illness. Remarks were made by Kristin Chenoweth, GLWD Love CEO David Ludwigson, and Michael Kors whose event co-chairs included Anna Wintour, Blaine Trump, and John Idol. The evening concluded with a performance by Sam Smith who said “I never turn down a request to sing from three people my Mom, Dad and Anna.” Leading the applause were Kristin Davis, Cynthia Nixon, Chloe Fineman, Zoey Deutch, Huma Abedin, and Luann De Lesseps. The event raised over 4 million dollars. glwd.org

Rita Hayworth Gala & Alzheimer’s Association

The late Hollywood goddess Rita Hayworth was remembered by her daughter Princess Yasmin Aga Khan when she hosted the 40th anniversary of The Alzheimer’s Association’s Imagine

Benefit. “My fight against Alzheimer’s began in 1981 when I became a caregiver for my mother when she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. I knew at that moment that this would become my life’s work.” Tony winner Leslie Odom Jr. sang “The Room Where It Happens” from Hamilton. The benefit raised over $1.2 million adding to the $90 million that has been raised since the Association’s inception in 1984 for care and research into Alzheimer’s. alz.org.

The Art Show & Henry Street Settlement

Agnes Gund, Beth Rudin DeWoody, Liliana Cavendish, interior designer TC Chou, and Yvonne Force Villareal led the way to the opening of the Art Show at the Park Avenue Amory that benefited the Henry Street Settlement. Over one million dollars was raised to provide vital social services to 50 thousand New Yorkers in need of shelter, education, and art programs. The Show has raised more than $38 million for the organization since 1989. Also in the mix was Galerie Gmurzynska’s Mathias Rastorfer as well as Adam Lindemann, who had a booth for his gallery Venus Over Manhattan which featured a solo show by Seth Becker. theartshow.org

Harry’s Bar: London

Laurence Graff, Emilia and Pepe Fanjul, Lady Lynne Rothschild with her beau, Lord Saatchi and Lord William and Lady Annabel Astor were among the guests at Hillary and Wilbur Ross’s dinner celebrating the English launch of his book Risks and Returns at Harry’s Bar in London. After the fete the Ross’s went on to be the guests of the Duke of Marlborough and his sister, Lady Henrietta Spencer – Churchill at Blenheim Castle. Ross then flew to California for a book signing at the Nixon Foundation where he talked about how a Trump administration would differ from a Harris one.

Gert + Giesela

Pseudonymous photographers Gert and Gisela (G+G) made their NYC debut with the eponymously named exhibition at Alfred González’s Gallery 71. Through artistic double-nude portraits, the exhibition shed light on the themes of connection, beauty, and female empowerment. “Germany’s culture of nudity as something supportive of physical, mental, and spiritual health is not always easily understood by a U.S. audience,” Gisela says. “By inviting the viewer to consider what might at first be surprising or even shocking about each photograph, we are hoping to start conversations about expectations that we typically hold about both society and ourselves.” gallery71.com

Larry David, Susie Essman & Aphrodise

Vin Diesel, Tina Fey, and Steve Carell are among the dozens of stars scheduled to be in scenes with Frank Schilling and Gabi Petrylaite’s new sparkling rosé Aphrodise from Greece. The couple’s bubbly has become such a hit in Hollywood and New York that it’s being featured in over 50 shows on Netflix, Hulu, Prime, and Apple TV — including the latest season of Curb Your Enthusiasm with Larry David and Susie Essman. Petrylaite said, “Whether they’re at a bar, a dinner party, or if it’s a romantic scene between a couple, and they share a glass, we’ll have a lot of these moments in big TV and film productions. It’s very flattering and exciting to see how much Hollywood loves Aphrodise.” drinkaphrodise.com

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