The original festival was organized by 10 directors in 1984 and was named the Hoke Heritage Hobnob. The Heritage Hobnob was a one-day festival, held mostly at McLauchlin Park and some of the county's schools. The festival had an "arts in the park" theme in McLauchlin Park, a beach concert by the Embers and other entertainment at the schools.

From 1985 to 1987, the festival was four days, starting with the cooking contest and continuing with activities and entertainment such as a parade, a turkey dinner, beach concert, arts and crafts, food for the next several days.

The festival would not be where it is today though without the hardwork of its volunteers. Volunteers would spend many hours meeting and planning and implementing ideas.