Sacramento, CA…Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced Friday the 82nd Annual Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held on Thursday, December 12th on the West Steps of the State Capitol.

This year’s tree is a 55-foot tall red fir from the Latour Demonstration State Forest located near Redding in Shasta County, the second Capitol Christmas tree to come from a state forest.

The tree will be decorated with 500 hand-crafted ornaments made by children and adults with developmental disabilities who receive services and support from the state’s development centers and 21 nonprofit regional centers.

The Governor and First Lady Anne Gust Brown will light the Capitol Christmas tree with eight-year-old Angel Valencia-Ceja, of Vallejo. It will be illuminated by approximately 10,000 ultra-low wattage LED lights.

Kitty O’Neal, of KFBK Radio, will emcee the ceremony, which will also feature performances by the California Army National Guard’s DET 1, 40th Infantry Division Band, Brass Quintet, the Governor’s Own; California Poet Laureate Juan Felipe Herrera; students from the Oakland Military Institute and Oakland School for the Arts; and St. Paul’s Baptist Church Choir.

When: Thursday, December 12, 2013 at 4:30 p.m. (formal program begins at 5:00 p.m.)
Where: California State Capitol, West Steps, Sacramento, CA 95814

**NOTE: This event is open to the public and credentialed media. Members of the public are asked to RSVP and encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate to the California Emergency Foodlink.

Parking for satellite trucks will be available on the East side of 10th Street between L and N Streets.

For more information on Angel Valencia-Ceja, please contact Nancy Lungren, California Department of Developmental Services, at nancy.lungren@dds.ca.gov.