Fit for a queen

Start the holiday season with a visit to an Elizabethan banquet. Coe Hall, the Elizabethan Revival-style mansion in Oyster Bay, opens its latest exhibit this weekend, “An Elizabethan Banquet.” On display are Cate Blanchett’s actual costumes (lent by Universal Studios) that she wore as Queen Elizabeth I in the movie, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age.”
Cate Blanchett’s spectacular wardrobe was designed for the 2007 movie by Alexander Byrne. Byrne’s inspiration for the costumes came from the work of the Spanish fashion designer, Balenciaga, who had used historical references in his 1950s couture.
Queen Elizabeth wore astonishing clothes using masses of jewels, feathers, and elaborate embroidery – all of which can be seen in the Coe Hall exhibition. While there, view the movie, “Elizabeth: The Golden Age,” which will show continuously.
Besides the costumes, the magnificent Great Hall at Coe Hall, the Elizabethan revival Gold Coast mansion, built by William Robertson Coe in 1921, has been transformed into a grand Renaissance banqueting chamber. The elaborate gold and silver displays, typical of royal occasions 400 years ago, have been recreated using over 300 decorative objects made from thousands of recycled dollar store and thrift store remnants; all of them have been painted white to create a stunning vision. Used toys, once-discarded vases, old stands for table lamps, and even part of a truck tire, have been imaginatively combined to look like a fantastic tableau – an Elizabethan banquet of 1600.
The display includes mechanical singing birds of the type that were first made in the 16th century by goldsmiths for use on dining room tables. Many fantastical animals are featured in the display, including miniature winged horses, in the spirit of Queen Elizabeth.

Queen Elizabeth made regular visits to the houses of her courtiers throughout England where she would hunt and be lavishly entertained. Many such houses, including Burghley House in Lincolnshire for her Lord Treasurer, Lord Burghley, were built with entertaining the Queen in mind. If Elizabeth I came to Coe Hall she would expect to see a dramatic display, of the type that has been created for modern visitors.
During opening weekend, Friday through Sunday, Nov. 27-29, enjoy Elizabethan music, at 12 and 2 p.m. Christopher Morrongiello, on lute, performs selections from his CD ”Strings of Pure Delight,” featuring lute music of the Renaissance.

When: An Elizabethan Banquet at Coe Hall, opens Nov. 27 and runs through Jan. 3. Friday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m.-3:30 p.m. (Closed Christmas Day; open New Year’s Day). $10, $3 children.
Where: Planting Fields Arboretum State Historic Park, 1395 Planting Fields Rd, Oyster Bay. (516) 922-8678 or www.plantingfields.org.