YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK, Calif., March 12, 2009 – The Irish won’t have a monopoly on “green” next week. When March 17th rolls around, guests visiting the crown jewel of the national park system will be able to both “experience” green and “taste” green at Yosemite Lodge at the Falls, and at the principle retail outlet, the Yosemite Village Store.
As part of an ongoing, comprehensive environmental effort to upgrade guest accommodations, retail facilities and culinary fare in Yosemite, principle concessioner DNC Parks & Resorts is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day by creating special guest experiences that incorporate traditional Irish dining with energy efficient lighting and organic/sustainable foods.
“We’re taking ‘green’ to a whole new level this St. Patrick’s Day,” says Keith Erikson, general manager at Yosemite Lodge at the Falls. “While our guests at the Mountain Room Restaurant are dining on corned beef and cabbage and sipping on green beverages at the Lounge, they’ll also be enjoying the environmental benefits of a recent ‘green’ retrofit of our overhead lighting that’s saving energy through the use of compact fluorescent bulbs.”
The Mountain Room Lounge will feature Yosemite local singer/songwriter Cher Albrecht on acoustic guitar and vocals from 8:00pm to 10:00pm next Tuesday. Cher has been compared to contemporary folk artist Jewel, and will perform a combination of covers and her own originals.
Yosemite Lodge at the Falls isn’t the only facility that has completed the lighting retrofit. With the exception of Yosemite’s Badger Pass Ski Area (scheduled for a retrofit in the off-season), all of the DNC-operated lodging, employee housing and retail stores in Yosemite Valley and Wawona now boast CFLs (compact fluorescents).
Furthering DNC’s “green” movement in the Park, the Yosemite Village Store is now offering organic / sustainable produce from local grower T&D Willey Farms of Madera, California; the same, fine Mediterranean vegetables that are served throughout Yosemite’s dining rooms at the Lodge, The Ahwahnee, Curry Village and Wawona Hotel.
