Kitchens large and small across the country are cooling down from
holiday feasts. And the kitchen at the Ahwahnee Hotel in Yosemite
National Park certainly needs a break. They've just finished the
Bracebridge Dinner, an elaborate affair that's been held almost every
Christmas for the last 70 years. The famed landscape photographer
Ansel Adams was one of the founders of the lavish event -- complete
with carolers, costumed characters and several courses. I wanted to
find out how they prepare feasts in the forest.
Because of the Bracebridge Dinner's popularity, seats at the dinner
are allocated by lottery. Applications for the lottery may be obtained
by writing to the following address:
Yosemite Concession Services Corporation
5410 E. Home Avenue
Fresno, California 93727
(559) 252-4848
Applications are accepted from December 1 through January 15 for the
following year's dinner. You can request up to 8 seats. They receive around
4000 applications a year. There are 332 seats available per seating and there are 5
total seatings, which take place on the 22nd, 24th and 25th.
Each dinner seat costs about $215 including tax
and gratuity, but excluding wine.
Learn more about the Yosemite Valley, where the hotel is located:
http://www.yosemitepark.net/virtual/valley.html
Interested in staying at the Ahwahnee Hotel? Visit the hotel's
website:
http://www.yosemitepark.com/lodging/ahwahnee.html
To find out all about Yosemite, visit these two aptly titled sites:
http://www.yosemitepark.com
http://www.yosemitepark.net
If you can't get lodging in the Ahwahnee, try some other B&B's:
http://www.bbchannel.com/USA/California/Yosemite%20National%20Park.asp
