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Have the time of your life in Lake Lure with 2016 Dirty Dancing Festival

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Thirty years have passed since Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Grey danced in the foothills of North Carolina, but a festival built on the legacy of "Dirty Dancing" will return again this year with plans of growing even bigger in the years to come.

The 2016 Dirty Dancing Festival, set for Aug. 19 and 20 in Lake Lure, is now in its seventh year and for the first time since its inception is again being produced locally.

"We are a team of volunteers who are working to put together this year's festival and move it forward," said Michelle Yelton, President of the McConnell Group Public Relations and a resident of Lake Lure.

Yelton, along with a friend, created the festival in 2009, but for the past several years, Yelton said, other projects had taken her away from being involved. But with the Hickory Nut Gorge Chamber of Commerce in a position to be able to produce such a festival, and the iconic film itself undergoing a remake, timing was right to reinvent the festival as well.

"We presented the idea to Jo (Beyersdorfer of JNB Events in Los Angeles) to bring the festival back under local control and she accepted," Yelton said. "We only took over in May, and everyone has really been rallying to get this year's festival together."

The festival has steadily grown into one that draws thousands of fans of the film to the area, Yelton continued, and in 2013 it became an official event of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PANCAN). A portion of event funds are donated to the organization, whose mission is to help find a cure for pancreatic cancer. (Star Patrick Swayze died from the disease in 2009.)

Back again this year is the lake lift competition, which will be held Saturday at 4:35 p.m. The couple who holds the lift the longest wins.

A shag contest is also planned, which be judged by professional shaggers Rick and Linda Bivins. But, Yelton pointed out, you don't have to be a pro to take part.

"It's just for beginners and those who are not professionals," she said. "Those who take part will be randomly assigned one of the songs from the movie to shag to, and winners will be announced for each group."

The shag contest, she continued, is a part of the festival she'd like to see grow into an extra day.

"I'd really love to see Sunday become a full-day shag competition," she said.

Food, snack, arts and crafts and commercial vendors will be on site during the Friday night viewing of the film, which is new for 2016.

"We've really tried to build out Friday night more," Yelton said. "In the past people came early to set up to watch the film, but then didn't have anything to do while they waited."

Vendors will be in place by 4 p.m., and a performance by the Lake Lure Cloggers is set to begin at 6.

Charlie vs. Swayze will take the stage at 7, Yelton said. Charlie Stone, 10, loves to dance and gained fame when his mother posted a video of him dancing to the movie's final scene went viral on Facebook.

"He will dance with a partner to a montage of versions of 'I've Had the Time of My Life,'" Yelton said.

Musical performances are scheduled throughout the day, including from Rutherford County band The Flying Saucers Band. There will also be dance lessons throughout the day.

Although three decades have now passed, the film still draws people to the area, Yelton said.

"The welcome center in Lake Lure says that people still ask daily about 'Dirty Dancing,'" she said. "It's like the golden egg."

As such, county tourism is using the tagline "time of your life" in its marketing, Yelton said.

"We really wanted to encompass our county as a whole while also really capitalizing on the fact that we have this 'Dirty Dancing' history," she said. "You can have the time of your life in Rutherford County whether you're walking on the Rail Trail in Spindale or spending time on the lake in Lake Lure."

The festival continues to gain new and repeat visitors to the area because of the film's cult following.

"The movie has 17 million fans," Yelton said. "For many of us, there is this nostalgia that surrounds it. Coming together with a couple of thousand others who feel that way.... it's very special."

The Dirty Dancing Festival is scheduled from 9am to 5pm Aug. 20 at Morse Park Meadows. Tickets are available online and at the door for $25 for adults and $10 for children. Friday night's film screening, which is free to attend, will be from 8:30 to 10pm, with gates opening at 4.

For more information, visit dirtydancingfestival.com.

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