Papa’s Back: Hemingway Days Returns To Key West

KEY WEST, FL — After being cancelled last summer because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Hemingway Days — which includes the infamous Hemingway Lookalike Contest — returns to Key West Tuesday through Sunday.

Pulitzer Prize-winning author Ernest Hemingway, known for numerous literary classics including “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “The Old Man and the Sea,” lived in Key West for a decade during the 1930s, according to the Monroe County Tourist Development Council website.

Hemingway, known by many as "Papa," worked on the iconic novel “A Farewell to Arms” and “To Have and Have Not” while living on Whitehead Street, the council said. Today, his Spanish colonial villa, now a National Historic Landmark, operates as a museum dedicated to the author’s work and life, as well as a residence for the six-toed Hemingway cats he loved so much.

Hemingway Days is an annual event that celebrates the author’s legacy in Key West. Its centerpiece is the Hemingway Look-Alike contest, where “scores of stocky, bearded men resembling” Hemingway compete, the tourism council said.

This year’s event, which is hosted by a frequent hangout for the author — Sloppy Joe’s at 201 Duval Street — takes place Thursday through Saturday. The preliminary rounds take place Thursday and Friday at 6:30 p.m., while the final round is set for Saturday evening.

There are still a few slots left for the first round of the competition on Thursday night, according to Sloppy Joe’s website. Those interested in competing should inquire at the registration table at 5 p.m. that day.

Sloppy Joe’s will also stage its annual Running of the Bulls down Duval Street at 1 p.m. Saturday. The event is a spoof on the Pamplona event, which Hemingway participated in numerous times throughout his life. The Key West event features the Hemingway look-alikes and manmade bulls parading down the street.

Other events planned during Hemingway Days include a three-day marlin tournament, a nod to the author’s love for deep-sea fishing. The tournament, held Thursday through Saturday, offers $50,000 in cash prizes.

A Hemingway Days Caribbean Street Fair will take place Saturday from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and will feature arts, crafts, food and drinks. The event benefits the Literacy Volunteers of America in Monroe County.

The Hemingway Key West 5K Sunset Run & Paddleboard Race also takes place Saturday evening with the paddleboard race kicking off at 5 p.m. and the 5k run/walk starting at 7:30 p.m.

The winner of the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, coordinated by Ernest Hemingway’s author granddaughter, will also be announced during Hemingway Days.