Bracebridge Dinner - History

History

Donald Tresidder, then president of the Yosemite Park & Curry Company (which operated the Ahwahnee and all other concessions in the park), conceived the idea for the event with his wife, Mary Curry, their friends and park staff. It is held in the grand dining room at the hotel. Tresidder hired Garnet Holme the first year to write the script and produce the event. Tesidder and his wife played the Squire and his lady until Tresidder's death in 1948.

Photographer Ansel Adams played the Lord of Misrule for the first two years. Holme died in 1929, and Tresidder asked Adams to take over the direction of the show. Adams reworked the script considerably in 1931, creating the role of Major Domo, head of the household, for himself while his wife, Virginia Best Adams, played the housekeeper.

The dinner was not held during World War II, when the Ahwahnee was functioning as a naval hospital. The 1946 dinner introduced chorale concerts and a more significant musical performances. Ansel Adams retired from the event in 1973, passing it on to Eugene Fulton, who had been part of the male chorus since 1934 and musical director since 1946. Fulton died unexpectedly on Christmas Eve in 1978. His wife, Anna-Marie, and his daughter, Andrea, took over that year and produced the show. In 1979, Andrea Fulton assumed the role of director, which she continues to this day while also playing the role of housekeeper. Much of the cast returns year after year, ensuring a continuity of tradition. As of 2010, the longest running member of the cast is Andrea Fulton, who began performing in 1950 at the age of five.