This event has passed.

Annual Xilonen Ceremony

Name: Annual Xilonen Ceremony
Start: 2026-06-13T11:00:00-07:00
End: 2026-06-13T17:00:00-07:00
Location: Pinto Lake Park

June 13 @ 11:00 am - 5:00 pm

Event Series (See All)

Annual Xilonen Ceremony

Pinto Lake Park: Saturday 11am-5pm, June 13 ~ Romo Park: Sunday, 11am-2pm, June 14

The 44th annual “Tender Corn” Xilonen Ceremony is a cherished tradition preserving a pre-Columbian Indigenous coming-of-age rite. This sacred celebration honors the transition of young women into adulthood.

You are warmly invited to join the community in upholding & celebrating this enduring tradition.

The ‘Tender Corn’ Xilonen Ceremony is a cherished tradition that preserves the Indigenous coming-of-age pre-Columbian ceremony.

It has been hosted by White Hawk, Iztatutli in Watsonville, CA, for the past 42 years and continues to do so.

This sacred celebration honors the passage of our young women into adulthood. We warmly invite you to join us once again this year as our community comes together to uphold and celebrate this beautiful tradition.

Xilonen is a rite of passage ceremony, a coming of age for young women that dates back thousands of years before the Spanish invasion.

*The main ceremony will take place at Pinto Lake County Park in Watsonville from 11am to 5pm Saturday, and will then follow to Sunday for the closing ceremony 11-2pm Romo Park, Downtown Watsonville.*

https://www.facebook.com/IxtatutliWhiteHawk