The very first Governor's Arts award was presented in 1966 to PONCHO (Patrons of Northwest Civic, Cultural and Charitable Organizations). PONCHO was formed in 1963 primarily to help raise funds for the Seattle Symphony. The Symphony had mounted an expensive production of Guiseppe Verdi's "Aida" for the Seattle Worlds Fair. Though scucessful, the production left a $35,000 deficit in the Symphony's budget. A group of Seattle arts supporters, who called themselves PONCHO, mounted an auction that not only covered the $35,000, but also produced the seed money to establish the Seattle Opera.

In 1989, Washington's centennial year, the Governor's Heritage Awards were established to honor outstanding individuals whose dedication to preserving and promoting traditions and cultural heritage were worthy of state recognition. Eleven individuals were recognized for their heritage contributions to the state that year: Marie Bakke Bremmer, Norwegian quilter, rosemaler; DavidForlines, Quileute tradition bearer; Marija Franulovich, Croation tradition bearer; Andrew George, Nez Perce and Yakima storyteller, spiritual leader; Woodrow Gifford logger poet; Nhai Yia Heu, Hmong master basketmaker; Vi Hilbert, Upper Skagit Native-American historian, linguist; Lucy Liu, Chinese painter, caligrapher; Esther Mumford, African-American historian; Ivan Novikoff, Russian-American dancer; and Gordon Ekvall Tracie, Swedish dancher, musician, folklorist.

More than 200 individuals and organizations have received these prestigious awards during the over 50 years of the program.