The Letcher County Mountain Heritage Festival was first celebrated in 1983. The year before the ideal for a festival began with a county wide pig roast, coordinated by the county judge, fiscal court, and county treasurer.
Advertisement was placed in the local papers and thousands came! The surprising turnout encouraged the committee to make the festival an annual event.
Needing a name for the event, the committee solicited the community for ideas. Mrs. Toby Davis submitted the winning name, "Mountain Heritage Festival".