Hemingway Days Festival Set for July 20-25 in Key West

The annual Hemingway Days Festival, celebrating Ernest Hemingway’s life and work, is scheduled for July 20-25. 2002 in Key West.

One of the most popular festival events is the Hemingway look-alike contest at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, one of the Nobel-prizing writer’s favorite spots when he lived in Key West from 1931-1939 and penned “For Whom the Bell Tolls” and “To Have and Have Not.”

Look-alike contests will appear before a panel of former winners in preliminary rounds on July 22 and 23, with the finale scheduled for Saturday, July 24.

Contestants will participate in a Photos with Papas session outside of Sloppy Joe’s prior to the annual Running of the Bulls, a lighthearted spin on the famous event in Spain.

Literary events include, among many others, a reading, a reading from the winning entry in the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, which is coupled with the Key West Poetry Guild’s reading of Hemingway’s work.

Two Hemingway “museum days” are set to take place in Key West’s Custom House where visitors can peruse a collection of the writer’s documents, memorabilia and personal belongings.

More active pursuits include the Stock Island Marina Village Key West Marlin Tournament, the 5k Sunset Run/Walk and Paddleboard Race street fair on Duval Street.