Backstage at Bracebridge at the Ahwahnee

We just got back from spending a few glorious days after Christmas visiting the park, and getting to be ';extras'; in the world famous Bracebridge Dinner at the Ahwahnee Hotel.

I have always wanted to experience Bracebridge somehow, but both the timing and the price made it difficult for us. However, this year, thanks to our many friends who are performers at the event (in my real life I work in the theater,) my family and I were finally able to get a ';taste'; of what the Bracebridge experience is all about.

So first of all, a little background. The Bracebridge Dinner is a musical pageant that goes back to the first year the Ahwahnee was built, 1929. Ansel Adams was one of the early performers and authors, and some of the set pieces date back to those early days. Today the pageant and dinner are offered 8 times in the last 2 weeks of December, and includes a 7 course meal and entertainment from some of the Bay Area%26#39;s finest performers. If you can manage it at least once in your lifetime, I would recommend it heartily. Be sure to get your tickets as part of a package with accommodations, because apparently the hotels (including the Wawona) will bus you there. Since the dress code is strictly formal, being dropped off at the front of the Ahwahnee is a big help! Once there, you will gather in the great room, sometimes with some entertainment and sing along to keep you busy, until you are ushered into the dining room which is done up to look like a 16th century English manor.

However, if you can%26#39;t quite swing the price of a ticket to the event, I did learn some useful facts that can give you a taste of the Bracebridge experience for FREE!

1) If you are visiting the park on Dec. 13th, have lunch at the Ahwahnee. It is the first dress rehearsal for the show, so you will get to see and hear many of the performers (sometimes repeatedly!)

2) on the weekends before and on Christmas Day, the performers sing in concerts at the Ahwahnee Great Room. Some are classical concerts, some Musical Theater, and of course, on Christmas, there is a Christmas concert. I%26#39;ve noticed that up to now, these concerts aren%26#39;t advertised, but if you are in the park during those times, be sure to check in at the Ahwahnee and see if and when the performances are happening.

We had a wonderful time and are very grateful to the folks at Bracebridge who gave us such a memorable experience.

Backstage at Bracebridge at the Ahwahnee

Thanks for sharing - this is on my list to do sometime as it sounds so wonderful. Thanks for the tips.

Backstage at Bracebridge at the Ahwahnee

We were there on Christmas Day for the concert and the day after Christmas singing carols in the Great Room. What a way to experience Christmas!

Maybe someday we can afford to actually attend a Bracebridge Dinner but for now we get to savour the memories of this latest Christmas.

Wasn%26#39;t the Valley absolutely spectacular this weekend?

Thanks for the hint about the 13th. We will have to put that on our calendar.

I think we did cross paths Macjack. Were you in the Great Hall on the day after Christmas singing Carols, or at the concert on Christmas Day?

While you were singing carols downstairs (assuming this was the evening) I was up on the mezzanine getting dressed to be one of the ';forest folk'; of Bracebridge Manor.

If you happened to have seen a family trying to get their car unstuck in the parking lot, or a woman who took a nasty fall in the aforementioned lot, that was me as well. And I have the black and blue marks to prove it.

I hope you are ok!

I did see many people getting stuck and unstuck but didn%26#39;t notice any particularly nasty falls.

We were in the same building at the same time , just on different floors.

Actually, my wife was upstairs at the ladies room. She said she was enjoying seeing the people getting ready for the show. If you noticed a pretty lady in a pink coat with white fur trim trying to get the knots out of her beautiful long curly hair, that was her.

How often do you do the Bracebridge and who do you have to know to get to be a ';Forest Folk';? ;-) My wife and I have both been involved in the theater. We were having fun watching all the people coming down the stairs in costume.

We had a fantastic Christmas there!

Macjack, thanks for this report! Glad you had a lovely time up there. Anddddd...hope your bruises heal quickly. My family has taken many the nasty fall in the winter time there.