SACRAMENTO – Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. and First Lady Anne Gust Brown hosted the 87th Annual Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony on December 6, 2018 on the West Steps of the State Capitol.

This year, the Governor and First Lady lit the Capitol Christmas tree with 7-year-old Kiran Dong of Valencia, who was born with Prader-Willi Syndrome and receives services from the North Los Angeles County Regional Center. The tree is illuminated by approximately 10,000 ultra-low wattage LED lights and is decorated with more than 900 hand-crafted ornaments made by children and adults with developmental disabilities who receive services and support from the state’s developmental centers and 21 nonprofit regional centers.

This year’s tree is a 65-foot-tall white fir from the Latour Demonstration State Forest located near Redding in Shasta County, the seventh Capitol Christmas tree to come from a state forest managed by CAL FIRE.

Kitty O’Neal of KFBK Radio emceed the ceremony, which included feature performances by the California Army National Guard’s DET 1, 40th Infantry Division Band, Brass Quintet, the Governor’s Own; students from the Oakland Military Institute and Oakland School for the Arts; Harley White Jr. Trio; and St. Paul’s Baptist Church Choir.

More information about Kiran Dong can be found here.