YULES OF ENGAGEMENT YOSEMITE REVELS IN HOLIDAY SPIRIT AT BRACEBRIDGE DINNERS.

Byline: - Eric Noland

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK - With a blare of trumpets and a blaze of bright-colored costumes, the feast begins.

For a few hours on a few evenings each December, the Dining Room of the Ahwahnee Hotel is transformed into a great baronial hall in the English countryside, propelling guests back in time to a Christmas that could only exist in the imagination.

The Bracebridge Dinner is a tradition as old as the hotel itself. The first was held in 1927, five months after the Ahwahnee opened, and legendary photographer Ansel Adams was one of the principal forces behind the event in the early years.

Today, a cast of more than 100 costumed players presents a pageant of music and drama as guests in formal attire partake of a traditional seven- course dinner.

It's a festive way to ring in the holidays, especially when you consider that it's set in the middle of a beautiful national park. It's also a considerable splurge: Once you've factored the room cost out of a two-night package, you'll discover that you're paying $290 per person for the dinner and entertainment, and that doesn't include the bar tab.

The production is loosely based on a Washington Irving short story from ``The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent.,'' written in 1819-20 when the American author was living in England. The host squire in the story has a fondness for long-standing Christmas traditions, and this program accordingly incorporates medieval and Renaissance elements. It's all over the map and the historical time line, but that just gives the cast license to dress in lavish attire, prance through elaborate processions and engage in all kinds of silly drama.

The music is a particular delight. After the holiday-season deluge of Frosty, Santa, chipmunks and chestnuts, it's a profound pleasure to hear Old English carols tastefully presented in precise choral harmony. And a rendition of ``O Holy Night'' is so moving that a hush inevitably descends on a room that was raucous just moments before.

For the dinner itself, some of the eyebrow-raising dishes from Irving's story - peacock pie? boar's head? - are playfully incorporated into the menu (don't worry, you'll eat neither). And minstrels wander the room, so that even if you're sitting as far as possible from the stage (as we were), the music still comes to you.

The dinner concludes with pudding and flaming wassail, though this mulled cider arrives at the table extinguished, and soothingly warm in the cup.

The Bracebridge is held on eight nights in December, including Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Because of extreme demand, tickets used to be distributed in a lottery, but extra nights were added and the lottery eliminated two years ago. At press time, seats at the table were still available for a few dates this year (though you'll have to stay nearby at the Yosemite Lodge, as the Ahwahnee is sold out).

The event is sure to get you into the spirit of the season. Which is exactly what happened to the character in Irving's story. ``I was in a continual excitement,'' he related, ``from the varied scenes of whim and innocent gaiety passing before me. It was inspiring to see wild-eyed frolic and warmhearted hospitality breaking out from among the chills and glooms of winter.''

--Information and reservations:

[phone]; www.yosemitepark.com (navigate from ``Lodging'' to ``Packages & Specials'' to ``Bracebridge.'' Tickets for the 2005 Bracebridge Dinners are set to go on sale in February.

IF YOU GO

GETTING THERE: The Ahwahnee is at the extreme east end of Yosemite Village, which can be reached from the west via Highways 41, 140 and 120. It is 314 miles from Los Angeles via Interstate 5 and Highways 99 and 41. It can also be reached from the east via Highways 395 and 120, though this route over Tioga Pass closes in winter.

RATES: Most of the Ahwahnee's 123 rooms and cottages cost $367 per night. You'll pay that rate whether you have a view of Yosemite Falls or the parking lot. A couple of junior suites and one full suite are priced higher. The hotel occasionally has specials during the slow fall/winter season - roughly now through March, holidays excepted.

INFORMATION: [phone]; www.yosemitepark.com.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- 3) Every December, more than 100 performers breathe life into the Bracebridge Dinners at the Ahwahnee Hotel, left, a tradition dating back to 1927. The Great Lounge, below, makes an ideal gathering place before the festivities, and guests needing a quiet moment can warm up on a bench inside one of the hotel's huge fireplaces, above.

(4) Half Dome, one of the majestic wonders of Yosemite National Park, can be seen on a stroll while staying at the Ahwahnee Hotel.

Jay Solmonson/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) --Information and reservations: (see text)

(2) IF YOU GO (see text)