It’s a known fact that Ernest Hemingway, one of America’s greatest novelists, writers and journalists, loved the Florida Keys. Just visit his legendary home in Key West and you’ll see what an impact it had on him and his creative process. And leave it to the Keys to love him right back, so much so that he is celebrated annually through his namesake festival, Hemingway Days.
Since 1981, Key West has drawn people from all over to honor the Nobel Prize winner who lived and wrote on the island for most of the 1930s, producing some of his best-known works such as “For Whom The Bell Tolls,” “Death in the Afternoon” and “To Have And Have Not.”
This year, the fun-filled event, taking place July 16-21, welcomes back its popular Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, where scores of stocky, bearded entrants compete for the best “Papa” resemblance at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, a frequent hangout of the author during his Key West years.
There will also be prose and poetry readings, a museum exhibit of Hemingway memorabilia and a walking tour of his favorite spots around the island. Add to that a three-day marlin fishing tournament (in homage to his passion for deep-sea angling), a 5K run and paddleboard race (honoring his sporting interests), a commemoration of the 125th anniversary of his July 21 birth and the announcement of the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition winner, hosted by Hemingway’s granddaughter, author Lorian Hemingway.
The festival also benefits local nonprofits and provides an economic boost for the island’s hospitality industry. Perhaps the most meaningful celebration of all is the literary heritage that began with Hemingway and has been followed by remarkable writers like Robert Frost, Judy Blume, Tennessee Williams and Phil Caputo.
For more information, visit fla-keys.com/hemingway-days.