Bracebridge Webmasters - Pedro Rodelas aka Chef Pierre and me

I didn’t end up taking that many pictures after all, but I did get to participate in a wonderful experience, and met some interesting people. I had corresponded a little with Pedro before in terms of updating the websites. He’s the one who put the wonderful videos that inspired me up on their site last year, and so introduced myself to him early on, and managed to nab this quick picture.

(from left to right) Christine, Cindy (half hidden), Tom, Maria, Dave, me, John, George, Sean and Katie

As Lani told me at one point, “This is live theater, you never know what is going to happen.” I don’t want to give anything away for people who haven’t been yet, but in a performance like this, where the “stage” encompasses the entire dining hall and all of the people in it, including the audience, the potential for Things To Happen is tremendous, and I thought that the actors and singers were quick on their feet, and managed to absorb even the strangest and most unexpected things into the storyline with grace and style. Lani Spicer took a beautiful series of pictures of the “littlest guest“, a ringtail cat that made it’s way up on to the stage and sometimes stole the show.

The best thing about being in the serving party (other than the people) was that we were allowed to slip into the back of the house during scenes we weren’t involved in, and watch. There are so many things going on that I missed when I attended performance last year, that I was glad to have the chance to take it in again (and again), for example, the looks that the Chef and the Housekeeper exchange, or the reaction of the Squire to the Parson.

Plus, if I haven’t mentioned it before, the music is amazing. I’m not much of an opera fan, but there is something about the power of the human voice and that kind of music that gives me goosebumps. The music buoyed me up even through the long days that started at 8 am with a full day of work before hurrying to the Dinner performance which often lasted past 10pm, and I marched around the office with parts of the refrains running through my head and lending me energy.

Next year I wonder if I can finagle a spot as a hostess. They have the lovely dresses, and get to watch even more of the performance.

In addition to the big things (Easter, Earth Day etc.) There were a bunch of interesting things going on to distinguish the month (as if the beginning of wildflower season wasn’t distinction enough around here). I don’t know if they are interesting enough to actually get me to participate – which is probably why it took me so long to mention them – but definitely interesting enough to get my head going around a bit. Helping out with the Yosemite Sentinel brings a lot of these random events to the surface, and is one of the most rewarding things about working on it.

April is Poetry Month!

I usually think of poetry readings as one of those ‘city things’ that I used to do when I live in Berkeley, but the public libraries in Wawona and Mariposa are doing special poetry events this month in celebration including compiling a local 2009 anthology of poems. Personally, I’ve been treating myself by reading the poem of the day published on The Writer’s Almanac.

Everyone! Please submit your original poetry, art, photography, songs, and
stories for display at the Mariposa County Library during the month of
April. All entries will be included in our 2009 anthology. All participants
will receive a copy of our book! Entries should be suitable for all ages.

WAWONA BASSETT MEMORIAL LIBRARY: As T. S. Eliot stated, Is April indeed the
“cruelest month”? Find out for sure Weds. 4/15 from 6 – 7p.m. at your
library. T.S. Eliot and the month of April will be our subject. Then,
Sat. 4/25 from 1-2 p.m. we will dig Kenneth Patchen and the SF Beats. All
are welcome to join our verbal feast, or poetry potluck, and bring some
verse to share.

MAIRPOSA: Cowboy Poetry: Come celebrate the 8th Annual Cowboy Poetry Week
at the Mariposa Library on Thursday, April 23 from 3:30–4:30 p.m. Cowboy
Poet Wendy Brown-Barry will be performing and giving suggestions on how to
write your own Cowboy Poetry.

April is Script Frenzy Month

Script Frenzy is a writing challenge, similar to National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo), to complete 100 pages of a script, be it screenplays, regular stage plays, or graphic novels, in a month. Specifically, the month of April.

I haven’t even read that many screenplays, so it’s hard for me to imagine just exactly how this would go, but after discovering the rewards of the 40 day blog challenge that I set for myself over Lent this year, it’s easy for me to imagine how rewarding participating in this type of challenge could be. Mostly, though, it got me to think some more about NaNoWriMo – a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in a month. Tom and I randomly came across Chris Baty’s book, No Plot? No Problem! while wandering happily through the book store a few years ago, and it has been kicking quietly in the back of my mind ever since.

I doubt there is any question that writing obsessively for a month would change my perspective on, and relationship to writing, but there are so many other things that I could happily obsess over for a month, that I’m finding it hard to commit.

Other Goings Ons

Wranger’s Reunion
In addition to being the Earth Day Celebration in Yosemite (a subject that deserves its own space), this last weekend was the annual Yosemite Wrangler’s Reunion. Wranglers (guides and packers) from NPS, DNC or Curry Company gathered together to hang out and swap stories in Mariposa last Sunday, as they have been (and this is the amazing part) since 1951.

El Portal Spring Fling
Not sure if I want to make a whole day of it, but I bet this one is fun… maybe combine it with another visit to Hite Cove to look for Fairy Lanterns.

April 25th 2009 8am-Midnight. Events throughout the day include Lion’s Club pancake breakfast 7-10am, Spring Run-Off 8am, registration at 7am, town photo 9:30am, flea market/arts and crafts all day an amazing variety of food vendors serving lunch, dinner and late night snacks, and YEA and their famous beverage service. Music Starts at 4pm ($15-20 Sliding Scale after 5pm). Performers include Dogon Lights (with members of Hamsa Lila featuring Yacuba Diarra from Burkina Faso and Tmomo from Giunea), Something Different (Live Rock/Electronica), Hometown Zeroes (Hometown Heroes), Rob I (Breaks and Dubstep), The Akoustic 2 (Country/Comedy), and the Local Music Showcase. Please NO OUTSIDE BEVERAGES. Volunteers are needed. Free admission available to volunteers.

Annual Day Care Benefit Center
May 9th is yet another El Portal party, from 5:30 until late, this time benefiting the local Day Care Center. This is, I’m told, the Day Care Center’s main fund-raising event for the year. Raffle prizes include an iPod, dinner for two at The Ahwahnee and a painting by local artist, Penny Otwell.

Water Bottles (taken by shrff14 on Flickr)

The most recent meeting was last Wednesday and I left feeling proud of the progress that we’ve made. Sure, we’re part of a big company, and that means that sometimes (read usually) we run into the red tape and delays that comes with any big company, but there were lots of new things going on that I think we can be proud of.

One of them is that we’re getting rid of imported bottled water in our stores. I mean, really. We have some of the cleanest, sweetest, most pure water coming straight out of our taps, why in the world do we need to ship gallons of water from France?

Of course, no change is immediate, so we’re conducting a short trial first to see if European visitors will balk at having to buy domestic bottled water instead of Evian. But why would they? Tom has even heard a French woman scold her sons for picking Evian up because even though it was a brand that was familiar to them, it isn’t environmentally friendly to be drinking it here.

Assuming there is no mass uprising caused by the absence of French water, we’ll settle nicely into our perfectly adequate selection of American water and call it good.

In some ways, that may not seem like a big change. We aren’t installing solar panels in a multi-million dollar project, or going off the grid. Maybe it won’t make the front page of the newspaper, but I’m really proud of the movement that lies behind it. It’s a change in awareness, a quiet, simple re-evaluation of what we do on a day-to-day basis that says that we’re committed to being earth-friendly, not because it will get us press or give us a reason to toot our own horns, but because it’s the right thing to do.

I started learning to play classical piano when I was 5 or 6 years old, and took lessons all the way through high-school. But, I had stopped playing since then, until Tom put his foot down and bought a piano for me about 8 months ago.

I love playing the piano. Unlike the guitar, which can be stowed away under a bed or in a corner and forgotten, the piano commands a certain presence in the room, and is always calling me. I play whenever I get the chance. It’s easy for me to lose hours working through some piece or another, trying to get the notes or the phrasing or the dynamics just right. I discovered a love for Debussy, and have been working on playing some of the pieces that he wrote – Arabesque I, Clair de Lune, Reverie.

And then there is Tom Bopp. Tom is often featured, playing the piano, at Wawona Hotel, and will be showcasing his skills at the upcoming Heritage Holidays festival as well. At the retirement party, I’m not sure if he played an entire song through from beginning to end, but he accompanied the people who spoke at Jerry and Judy’s retirement, matching the moods and themes of whatever was going on on-stage, blending seamlessly from one song to the next. I had the impression that Tom was maybe not playing so much ‘songs’ per se, as feelings and moods, a pure musical expression that was just as eloquent as poetry.

I wish I could play like that.

I met a musician in Bishop, CA who could do that too. He could play his day out for you to hear, a weekend at the beach, or the fight he’d had with his boss. He’d sit down at the piano, give a quick little whimsical look up into the air to figure out where to begin, and then he’d just start in. Funny thing was, he didn’t even consider himself a piano player. You should have heard him on the guitar.

The jazz musicians do it all the time, of course, and I heard a young woman, performing at TED talks, improvise classical piano (it’s maybe 2/3 of the way through the talk. Wait. It’s worth it.) that was absolutely jaw-dropping.

Music theory. My poor patient piano teacher, Mrs. Whitehead, did her best to give me a decent education in it, but I didn’t understand what it was for back then, and almost none of it stuck. I’m sure I could figure it out again with some books, and if I practiced it, it would come out sounding OK after a while.

I guess I’ll put it on my list of things to do… after I get done with all the other things that I wish I could do…

Art

The evening begins with artwork – there are two exhibit openings tonight. William Neill’s Classic Yosemite Photography Exhibit Opening begins at the Ansel Adams Gallery from 4:00 – 5:30, and Yosemite Renaissance has a juried exhibit opening at the Yosemite Museum Gallery from 5:30 to 7:30, which contains photography and paintings of Yosemite and the Sierra.

Retirement Party

OK – this is a personal thing, and people retire from all different kinds of places. We’ve already bid farewell to a beloved Park Supe this year, and this celebration is for Jerry and Judy, who have been in the park, just about forever. Jerry started working here in 1964, as the kid who pushed the giant bonfire off of Glacier Point for the Firefall, and retires this year as the Director of Hotels. I’m looking forward to the program this evening to hear all the stories that people have to tell about them.

Lu’au

Huh? In Yosemite? That’s right. There is a full-on Lu’au with professional Maori, Hawaiian and Tahitian dancers at Curry Village on Saturday (Feb. 28) and the not so professional but very cute kids from Yosemite’s El Portal and Valley schools, and a Polynesian Buffet for only $15 ($7.50 for kids). Proceeds go to benefit the Yosemite Valley and El Portal schools (yes, there is a school right in Yosemite Valley).

Heritage Holidays

I’m not sure there is a short description for this event. Heritage Holidays starts on Sunday and celebrates the Art Deco era with music, dancing, fabulous vintage fashion from the 20s and 30s, historical programs, a scrumptious Gala Dinner on Monday night and, of course, a Grand Ball with top hats and tails that tops the 3-day event off on Tuesday evening. This year is particularly special, because there will be a reunion of WWII Veterans who stayed at The Ahwahnee during their convalescence when it was temporarily transformed into a hospital.

The Regular Stuff

And as if that wasn’t enough to fill the weekend, there’s the ‘regular’ stuff too.

Skate skiing is probably awesome along the Glacier Point Road this weekend. With the fresh snow lately, I’ve been doing more powder hunting and less skating, and it’s time to balance things out a little, not that taking a few turns at Badger doesn’t sound good too.

Plus, we’ve been hearing reports of AMAZING poppies blooming along Hwy 140 where the Telegraph Fire burned this summer from Michael Frye, and Steve Bumgardner.

And that doesn’t even count reading one of the many books that are waiting for me on the bookshelf, writing, drawing, playing the piano… and today is my mom’s birthday. Happy Birthday, Mom!

The Marketing Team at Bracebridge

Why this year? First, bracebridgedinners.com put up some video of the performances on their site. Visit. I can’t describe it to you, and neither can anyone else that I’ve managed to read, although many people try. Although I’ve been staring at the pictures and reading descriptions for years, there’s something about Bracebridge that you just don’t seem to capture with static images. I was surprised at the music, although I knew there was music, and the beautiful costumes, although I’d seen many pictures of the beautiful costumes. They are so much more stunning when they are alive and in motion.

Then, I randomly kept talking to people who are completely passionate about the event. They cry and laugh during the performance, they become radiant if you simply bring up the subject of Bracebridge, and they return year after year to experience it again. Why? I had to find out, so I decided that I needed to see the event for myself. Being the relatively stingy and poor person that I am, $375 just seemed like too much money for one dinner, so I decided to volunteer to be part of the performance. Locals are invited to dress up in costume and play the role of hosts/hostesses, or forest folk, or litter bearers (although there is a height requirement for that last one, that I definitely do not qualify for). Unfortunately, my decision was made at the last minute. Martha was very gracious, and worked hard to squeeze me in.

But, as it turned out, I didn’t need to volunteer. Brian, the amazing boss that he is, contrived to take the Marketing Team to the event. Does that bring me to 487 reasons I love my job?

I had been warned that people dress up for Bracebridge, so I wore my nicest dress, but was still shocked at the elegance in the Great Lounge that evening. Tuxedos and top hats, floor length ball gowns. It was amazing. There were several of us who had never been to Bracebridge before, and I think the more experienced among us enjoyed experiencing it through fresh eyes. Apparently, several of my table-mates got a good laugh at the shocked expression on my face during one part – which I enjoyed so much that I had tears in my eyes.

So, what is it? It’s Christmas at Bracebridge Hall, based on the Washington Irving sketchbook of the same name. I probably hold ‘historic’ and ‘tradition’ in less high regard than I should, but there is a reason this performance has lasted through the decades the way that it has. Andrea Fulton, the producer and director of, and actor in the Bracebridge Dinner performance has worked hard to make the dinner in some ways contemporary and fresh, while still holding on to the Bracebridge tradition begun with the first performance way back in 1927, when The Ahwahnee was first completed.

During the course of the evening you become privy to the relationships and colorful characters who attend or visit Squire Bracebridge for the evening. I wish I could tell you which one was my favorite, but I enjoyed all of them so much the decision is too hard. We were serenaded or otherwise entertained at our table by the actors/singers several times. The intensity of the music becomes physical – vibrating in your chest. The food is superb – the menu designed by The Ahwahnee’s talented executive chef, Percy Whatley.

And next year? Next year I will volunteer far in advance, and I will get dressed up in whatever role they will give me, and I will bring my camera (cameras are forbidden during the performance) to take pictures before and after, and maybe I will become part of the Bracebridge Dinner tradition in my own small way.

I’ve only been wanting one for, lets see, 19 years or so. Basically since I moved out of my parents’ home and went to college. Unlike a piccolo, or even a guitar, pianos don’t lend themselves to moving around or small spaces, so it’s never really been a reasonable purchase. Until now.

… and I’m so happy with the model that we decided on. Growing up with a ‘real piano’, I have developed a certain minimum set of requirements – no truncated keyboards (this one is a full 88-key keyboard) and it has to *feel* like a piano. On the other hand, I didn’t want to break the bank either.

Playing is a real pleasure. My parents sent me a stack of my old music. Plus, the Yamaha YDP233 comes with a book of popular classical pieces (which you can hear before you play as part of the demo function). I’m rusty, of course, and my hands aren’t ‘in shape’ for extended playing. The first two nights I played until my fingers and forearms ached (typing was difficult the next morning). I’m sure it will come eventually though.

I surprised myself by using the metronome feature right of the bat. My old teacher, Mrs. Whitehead, would be proud. I’ve never done more counting than absolutely necessary, and sometimes less than necessary, but found that it was an interesting game to stay in time with the built-in metronome.
I also did scales, and wished that I remembered more piano theory. Eh – so I’ve changed since high school. Who’d have thunk?

Now, I just need to get some headphones so that I don’t torture Tom into regretting the purchase.