Governor Gavin Newsom and Jennifer Siebel Newsom will host the 90th Annual California State Capitol Tree Lighting Ceremony on Thursday, Dec. 2.
The celebration, which dates back to the early 1930s, will highlight California’s diverse holiday traditions, native heritage and spirit of inclusion.
Performers for this year’s celebrations will include program hosts Renel Brooks-Moon and Todd Leitz, announcers for the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers, respectively, as well as actress and singer Amber Riley, the Wilton Rancheria tribe, Oakland Interfaith Gospel Choir, SF Gay Men’s Chorus, mariachi singer Pedrito Fregoso, and rising R&B singer-songwriter and Sacramento Area Youth Speaks Poet Danielle “Yelly” Scales.
“After months apart, we are grateful to once again have the opportunity to safely gather and honor the many traditions of California’s diverse communities during the holiday season,” said Governor Newsom. “Let us celebrate the spirit of strength, hope and resilience that resides within us all.”
“The tree lighting ceremony is a beloved, time-honored tradition that offers us an opportunity to reflect on how far we’ve come as Californians,” said First Partner Siebel Newsom. “It is also an opportunity to reinvigorate the spirit of ‘me to we’ and our shared commitment to one another — especially those in need — this holiday season and beyond.”
The Governor and First Partner will light the State Capitol tree with special guest Hadiyyah Esmat. The six-year-old from Dublin, California was selected by the California Department of Developmental Services and the Regional Center of the East Bay, and will represent the more than 360,000 Californians living with intellectual and developmental disabilities. A first grader at John Green Elementary, Hadiyyah is very curious and loves to spend time in nature, enjoying activities like hiking and swimming. She loves to eat Afghan food, which her mother prepares at home during the holiday season. Family is most important to Hadiyyah, who will be joined at the Capitol by her mother, aunt, uncle, and cousin.
The 2021 State Capitol tree is a 65’ tall white fir from the LaTour Demonstration State Forest located near Redding in Shasta County, which is managed by CAL FIRE. The tree will be illuminated by approximately 14,000 ultra-low wattage LED lights and is being decorated with more than 300 traditional ornaments and approximately 500 hand-crafted ornaments made by children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
The State Capitol Tree Lighting Ceremony program begins at 5:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 2. The event will also be livestreamed on the California Governor’s Office YouTube, Twitter and Facebook accounts.
Television station KCRA 3 will broadcast this year’s event in the Sacramento region.
