Video: Meet the kid who will light the Capitol Christmas tree

Update: Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday afternoon canceled the Christmas tree ceremony in light of the mass shooting in San Bernardino.

J.J. Paris has already had a full visit to Sacramento: On Monday night, he attended a Kings game. On Tuesday, he took a private tour of the Capitol, where he received a resolution from state Sen. Tom Berryhill, R-Twain Harte, and Assemblyman Frank Bigelow, R-O’Neals.

He’ll cap off the excitement starting at 5 p.m. Wednesday by helping Gov. Jerry Brown and First Lady Anne Gust Brown illuminate 10,000 LED lights on the Capitol Christmas tree at the 84th annual tree lighting ceremony.

Paris, a nine-year-old from Sonora, is representing the nearly 300,000 Californians served by the state’s 21 regional centers for the developmentally disabled. As a toddler, Paris received early interventia toddler, Paris received early intervention for his autism spectrum disorder, and he is now in a general education classroom at his elementary school. In his free time, he participates in Cub Scouts and has earned a yellow belt in Kung Fu.

Before the ceremony, where he will hang a handmade popsicle-stick ornament on the tree, Paris will meet with Brown. He plans to present the governor with a painting of a Christmas wreath made from the hand prints of all the students in his fourth-grade class.

This story was originally published December 2, 2015 at 1:18 PM.