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Celebrate Renaissance France & The Craftsmen Who Built Notre-Dame

Imagine Leonardo de Vinci and Francis I, two great minds, sitting down to dinner together! Francis I, the celebrated French king who lured de Vinci (and the Mona Lisa!) to France, created a scintillating court featuring increasingly sophisticated cuisine. Whimsy, and experimentation, were the order of the day.

Tables were transformed forever.  

Join a Renaissance banquet at the historic Julia Ideson Library, 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 and Volker Bach, culinary historians specializing in Renaissance cuisine. 

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

featuring materials from four groups of artisans involved in the

preservation of Notre-Dame.

Honoring

The Honorable Valérie Baraban, Consul Générale de France

&

Phoebe Tudor

Chair, National Trust for Historic Preservation
 

Individual Tickets

$150 per person

Donation Levels

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

$500 - “Gargoyles” - Receive 3 tickets

$1000 - “Flying Buttresses” - Receive 5 Tickets

$2,500 - “Forrest” - 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 parking