Editors Correction: The Restore Hetch Hetchy’s 2026 Annual Dinner will be help at the Veterans Memorial Center in Lafayette, NOT at Tenaya Lodge in Yosemite, as stated in this article when it was first posted. Sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused. For further information, visit the 2026 Restore Hetch Hetchy Annual Dinner website page or keep reading below.
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For many people, Hetch Hetchy is simply the reservoir they drive past on their way into Yosemite National Park. But to others, it represents one of the park’s greatest “what if” stories—a place where breathtaking scenery, Native American history, and more than a century of conservation debate all come together.
This fall, that history will take center stage during Restore Hetch Hetchy’s 2026 Annual Dinner, an evening designed to celebrate not only the organization’s vision for the future, but also the people whose cultural traditions have helped define Yosemite for generations.
The event, scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 17 at Veterans Memorial Center in Lafayette, carries the theme “Celebrating the Legacy Weavers of Yosemite.” Rather than focusing solely on the long-running effort to restore Hetch Hetchy Valley, this year’s gathering shines a spotlight on Yosemite’s Indigenous basket weavers and the traditions they continue to preserve.
For mountain residents who spend time exploring Yosemite, it’s a reminder that the park’s story extends well beyond granite cliffs and waterfalls. Long before Yosemite became a national park, Native communities lived throughout the region, developing traditions and craftsmanship that continue to influence the area’s cultural identity today.
Basket weaving remains one of the most recognizable expressions of that heritage. Yosemite’s Native artisans have long been recognized for creating intricate baskets using locally gathered materials, with techniques and designs passed from one generation to the next. Many of those traditions are still practiced today, connecting modern Yosemite visitors with thousands of years of history.
Restore Hetch Hetchy says this year’s dinner is intended to celebrate those enduring cultural connections while bringing together supporters of conservation, history, and Yosemite’s future.
Of course, Hetch Hetchy itself remains part of that conversation.
Before it was dammed in the early 1900s to create the reservoir that supplies water to much of the San Francisco Bay Area, Hetch Hetchy Valley was often described as a sister valley to Yosemite Valley, complete with towering granite walls, waterfalls, and expansive meadows. Its flooding in 1923 remains one of the most significant—and controversial—chapters in the history of the American conservation movement.
Today, Restore Hetch Hetchy continues to advocate for restoring the valley while maintaining reliable water supplies through modern infrastructure and water management. Whether or not visitors agree with that vision, the organization has increasingly focused on education, cultural history, and public dialogue surrounding one of Yosemite’s most fascinating landscapes.
The annual dinner reflects that broader mission. Along with dinner and a live auction, the evening will feature speakers and presentations celebrating Yosemite’s cultural legacy and the people whose traditions continue to shape it.
For local residents, it’s another reminder that Yosemite isn’t just a collection of famous viewpoints. It’s also a place with deep human roots—where stories, artistry, and history remain just as much a part of the landscape as the mountains themselves.
Tickets and additional information about the Oct. 17 event are available through Restore Hetch Hetchy’s website.
