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California Gov. BrownSACRAMENTO, Calif. /California Newswire/ — Today, Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. announced the 81st Annual Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held on Wednesday, December 5 on the West Steps of the State Capitol. This year’s tree is a 50-foot tall white fir tree from the Latour Demonstration State Forest located near Redding in Shasta County and is the first Capitol Christmas tree from a state forest.

The tree will be decorated with hundreds of 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 will light the Capitol Christmas tree with ten-year-old Christian Anderson, of Costa Mesa. 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, 59th Army Band, the Brass Quintet, the Governor’s Own; Galena Street East; students from the Oakland Military Institute and Oakland School for the Arts; and St. Paul’s Baptist Church Choir.

When: Wednesday, December 5, 2012 at 4:30 p.m. (formal program begins at 5:00 p.m.)
Where: California State Capitol, West Steps, Sacramento, CA 95814

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

**Note: This event is open to the public and credentialed media. Members of the public are asked to RSVP at http://capitoltreelighting.eventbrite.com and encouraged to bring non-perishable food items to donate to the California Emergency Foodlink.

For more information about Christian Anderson, please contact Nancy Lungren with the Department of Developmental Services at nancy.lungren@dds.ca.gov.