A banquet (English: /ˈbæŋk.wɪt/, French: [bɑ̃.kɛ]) is a large meal or feast, complete with main courses and desserts. It usually serves a purpose such as a charitable gathering, a ceremony, or a celebration, and is often preceded or followed by speeches in honour of someone.

The idea of banqueting is ancient (see Sellisternium, Belshazzar's Feast, and Mead halls) In the sixteenth century a banquet was very different from our modern perception and stems from the medieval 'ceremony of the void'. After dinner the guests would stand and drink sweet wine and spices while the table was cleared, or ‘voided’ (Later in the seventeenth century ‘void’ would be replaced with the French ‘dessert’). During the sixteenth century, guests would no longer stand in the great chamber whilst the table was cleared and the room prepared for entertainment, but would retire to the parlour or banqueting room.

As the idea of banqueting developed, it could take place at any time during the day and have much more in common with the later practice of taking tea. Banqueting rooms varied greatly from house to house, but were generally on an intimate scale either in a garden room or inside such as the small banqueting turrets in Longleat House.

Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (born October 10, 1974), better known simply as Dale Earnhardt, Jr., is a professional American race car driver and team owner who drives the No. 88 Diet Mountain Dew/United States National Guard/7-Eleven Chevrolet Impala in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports, and drives the No. 5 Chevrolet Impala for his own team, JR Motorsports, in selected events in the Nationwide Series. He is the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, Sr., and the grandson of both NASCAR driver Ralph Earnhardt and Robert Gee, the well known stock car fabricator. Earnhardt, Jr. is also the half-brother of former driver Kerry Earnhardt, the uncle of driver Jeffrey Earnhardt, and the stepson of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team co-owner Teresa Earnhardt. Earnhardt, Jr. has won the Most Popular Driver Award nine times. He has an estimated net worth of $300 million.

He was raised in Kannapolis, North Carolina, Dale Jr. is the son of Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. and Brenda Lorraine (née Gee; born January 2, 1952). His maternal grandfather, Robert Gee, Sr., was a NASCAR car builder. Dale Earnhardt Jr. attended college and earned a 2 year automotive degree in Mooresville, North Carolina.

Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. (April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001) was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR. Born to race car driver Ralph Lee Earnhardt, Earnhardt began his career in 1975 when he drove in the 1975 World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway as part of the Winston Cup Series (later the Sprint Cup Series).

During the course of his career, Earnhardt won a total of 76 races (including one Daytona 500 victory in 1998). He earned seven championships, which is tied for the most all time with Richard Petty. His aggressive driving style earned him the nickname "The Intimidator".

While driving in the 2001 Daytona 500, Earnhardt died of basilar skull fracture in a last-lap crash at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2001. He has been inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Earnhardt was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, on April 29, 1951, to Martha Coleman and Ralph Lee Earnhardt, who was then one of the best short-track drivers in North Carolina. Ralph won his one and only NASCAR Sportsman Championship in 1956 at Greenville Pickens Speedway in Greenville, South Carolina. Although Ralph did not want his son to follow in his footsteps, Earnhardt would not be persuaded to give up his dream of racing, dropping out of school to race. Ralph was a hard teacher for Earnhardt, and after Ralph died of a heart attack at his home in 1973, it took many years before Earnhardt felt as though he had finally "proven" himself to his father. Earnhardt had four siblings, Danny, Randy, Cathy, and Kaye.

Jay Ferguson Cox Mohr (born Jon Ferguson Mohr; August 23, 1970) is an American actor and stand up comedian. He is known for his role as Professor Rick Payne in the TV series Ghost Whisperer, the title role in the CBS sitcom Gary Unmarried, which ran from 2008 to 2010, as a featured player for two seasons on the long running sketch comedy show Saturday Night Live, and the back-stabbing sports agent Bob Sugar in Jerry Maguire. Mohr could also be known for his near-identical impersonation of actor Christopher Walken.

Mohr was born in Verona, New Jersey. His mother, Jean (née Ferguson), is a nurse, and his father, Jon Wood Mohr, is a marketing executive. He has two sisters, Julia and Virginia.

Mohr appeared as a featured player for the 1993-94 and 1994-95 seasons of Saturday Night Live. His 2004 memoir, Gasping for Airtime: Two Years in the Trenches of Saturday Night Live (ISBN 1-4013-0006-5), details this tumultuous period of his life, including his battle with chronic panic attacks. Though his potential was appreciated by SNL creator/producer Lorne Michaels, Mohr was impatient with his progression to full cast member, and left the show on bad terms. He has since reconciled with Michaels.