The Dirty Dancing Festival was founded in 2010 in the beautiful town of Lake Lure North Carolina, where much of the classic film Dirty Dancing was filmed. With the support of Lionsgate Films, the blessing of Eleanor Bergstein (the original writer of the film), and several of the film's cast and crew, the event was founded by former dancer-turned-event producer Jo Beyersdorfer of JNB Events, and PR-guru Michelle Yelton of The McConnell Public Relations. The festival kicked off with over 1,000 attendees in 2010. In 2011 JNB took over the direction of the festival, and produced the event until 2015. In 2016, JNB handed the festival over to the Chamber of Hickory Nut Gorge located in Lake Lure, NC making it a true, homegrown event!

The festival has grown in numbers and fame ever since and aims to not only be a large scale fundraising event in the future, but also a weekend celebration of dancing, music and our all-time favorite movie!