November 2014 - SACRAMENTO - Governor Edmund G. Brown Jr. has announced the 83rd Annual Capitol Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony will be held on Tuesday, December 2nd on the West Steps of the State Capitol.
This year's tree is a 53-foot tall white fir from Latour Demonstration State Forest located near Redding in Shasta County, the third Capitol Christmas tree to come from a state forest managed by CAL FIRE on behalf of the public.
The tree is decorated with 900 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 Kimie Metcalf, of Chino. 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; poet Jibril Kyser; students from the Oakland Military Institute and Oakland School for the Arts; and St. Paul's Baptist Church Choir.
When: Tuesday, December 2, 2014 at 4:30 p.m. (formal program begins at 5:00 p.m.)
Where: California State Capitol, West Steps, Sacramento, CA 95814
CAL FIRE:
Sacramento - On Tuesday, November 4, the official state Christmas tree was delivered to the California State Capitol in Sacramento. The 60 foot tall White Fir, donated by CAL FIRE from Latour Demonstration State Forest, was transported down Interstate 5 to the State Capitol.
According to the California Department of General Services, who oversees the tree’s placement, once decorated, the tree will contain 10,000 lights and 500 ornaments. In keeping with tradition, the Department of Developmental Services will provide the ornaments, handcrafted by children and adults with developmental disabilities who receive services and support from state developmental centers and 21 nonprofit regional centers. Again this year, ultra-low-wattage LED lights will be used, saving 95 percent of the energy that would be consumed by incandescent bulbs.
The California State Christmas Tree is now on display on the West side of the State Capitol (10th Street, between N and L Streets) in Sacramento. It will undoubtedly bring joy to everyone who visits the capitol this holiday season.
DGS:
The Department of General Services delivered the state’s official Christmas tree to the State Capitol today in preparation for the holiday season.
See a photo album of today’s tree delivery.
DGS Real Estate Services Division tree cutters and groundskeepers offloaded the white fir from a CAL FIRE truck this morning and worked with a crane operator to guide the tree into place on the Capitol’s west lawn.
DGS crews will spend several days trimming the tree with 500 hand-crafted ornaments donated from the California Department of Developmental Services. The ornaments are created by children and adults with developmental disabilities who receive services and support from the state’s development centers and 21 nonprofit regional centers. The tree will also feature 10,000 ultra-low-wattage, light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs.
On November 3, a DGS tree crew cut down the tree from the Latour Demonstration State Forest near Redding and prepared the tree for transport. The Latour Demonstration State Forest is one of eight state forests operated by CAL FIRE. These forests are used to host research projects, and demonstrate improved forest management practices, from timber production and environmental stewardship, to public recreation uses.
