SIDETRACK
BIG REVEAL: TV’s Ty Pennington apparently dropped by the Hub for a big reveal earlier this week. Pennington, who’s known for his work on renovation shows like “Extreme Makeover: Home Edition” and “Trading Spaces,” popped into Boston Children’s Hospital to show off the redesign he did on its dining room for Parent’s Night Out, which provides meals to caregivers of critically ill patients who can’t leave the grounds to grab a bite to eat. Working alongside the Boston Children’s Patient Support Services team, the onair personality, carpenter and philanthropist revamped the space, including adding some snazzy, honeycomb-patterned dividers that he made from wood on a CNC router. While in town, it looks like Pennington also put on a Red Sox cap and headed to Fenway, watching our baseball team take on the Rangers on Wednesday afternoon.
LUCKY CHUCK: NBA Hall of Famer Charles Barkley was spotted on the streets of Beacon Hill, following Wednesday’s production of depression on ice at TD Garden. The basketball legend-turned-sports analyst was in town to watch the less-than-ideal Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final, sounding off on the action — and specifically siding with the Blues — while on-air with NBC between periods. And after the game, while most of our city was busy licking our wounds from the Bruins’ 4-1 loss, we’re told that Barkley swung by the Tip Tap Room to visit his friend Tyronne Sutton, who works the door at the Cambridge Street establishment.
MADAME LYNCH: We hear that actress and singer Jane Lynch rubbed elbows with some charitable theatergoers on Wednesday night, after she performed a selection of tunes from the Great American Songbook alongside the Boston Pops at Symphony Hall. Prior to the show, members of the Brain Aneurysm Foundation hosted a cocktail reception benefiting their Hanover-based organization and its efforts to raise funds and awareness. Conductor Keith Lockhart made a point to mingle with the group before taking the stage, while Lynch paid her respects once she was done serenading the crowd. Although Lynch stuck to crooning out classics during her Hub appearance, she’s best known for having played the cutthroat cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester on the musical TV series “Glee,” in addition to stealing scenes in big screen comedies like “Best In Show” and “The 40-Year-Old Virgin.”