A Renaissance Banquet

Celebrate Renaissance France & The Craftsmen Who Built Notre-Dame

&

Preservation from Paris to Houston

Imagine Leonardo de Vinci and Francis I, two great minds, sitting down to dinner together! That is the environment we are featuring in our upcoming feast. Francis I, the celebrated French king who lured de Vinci (and the Mona Lisa!) to France, created a scintillating court featuring increasingly sophisticated cuisine with revolutionary developments in brewing and fermentation and the discovery of astonishing new edible plants from the Americas. Whimsy, and experimentation, were the order of the day.

Tables were transformed forever.  

Join a Renaissance banquet at the historic Julia Ideson Building, a triumph of Renaissance Revival architecture in Houston. You will be transported to a time of incredible artistic, scientific, and cultural rebirth. Our festivities include Renaissance music, wine from some vineyards dating back to the Renaissance, and an authentic menu created in consultation with Ken Albala, a renowned culinary historian specializing in Renaissance cuisine. 

Guests are invited to be the first to preview our new exhibit in the Julia Ideson Gallery Notre-Dame de Paris – the Great Restoration Adventure Celebrating the Craftsmen of Notre-Dame

Rebâtir Notre-Dame de Paris will be present to give an update on the latest news of the restoration of the Cathedral.  

Honoring

The Honorable Valérie Baraban, Consul Générale de France

&

Phoebe Tudor

Individual Tickets

$150 per person

Donation Levels

Your donations help Archaeology Now carry out its mission of telling the stories of Houston’s many vibrant communities

$500 - “Gargoyles” - Receive 3 tickets

$1000 - “Flying Buttresses” - Receive 5 Tickets

$2,500 - “Forest” - Receive 10 Tickets

$5,000 - “Rose Window” - Receive 10 Tickets

$10,000 - “Spire” - Receive 10 Tickets

Fri Jun 27, 2025, 6pm-8pm. 

Julia Ideson Library | 550 McKinney St, Houston, TX 77002

Complementary Valet Service