The July 4 World Famous Key Lime Pie Eating Championship welcomes up to 25 contestants to compete in a timed race to consume a 9-inch Key Lime pie, topped with whipped cream, without using their hands. The sensationally sloppy competition is part of Key West’s annual Key Lime Festival, which runs July 1-5 this year. (Photo: Carol Tedesco – Key Lime Festival)

KEY WEST, Florida — The birthplace of Key lime pie celebrates the sensational citrus that inspired it as the annual Key Lime Festival returns to Key West, Fla., July 1–5, 2026. Serving up an irresistible mix of culinary experiences, quirky island competitions, and family-friendly festivities, the five-day celebration invites locals and visitors alike to indulge in the sweet and tart traditions that have become synonymous with Key West.

Zestivities begin on Wednesday, July 1, as festival co-founder David Sloan welcomes lime-lifers to a spirited kickoff party starting at 6 p.m. on the veranda of the Avalon Bed & Breakfast, then flowing onto historic Duval Street for an evening of music, games, food and beverages, and the chance to win this year’s Key Lime Festival Emperor and Empress titles.

Throughout the week, festival-goers can savor an eclectic line-up of experiences surrounding the festival’s centerpiece: the July 4 World Famous Key Lime Pie Eating Championship at the Southernmost Beach Café. An outrageously messy twist on New York’s traditional Independence Day hot dog eating contest, the spectacle challenges up to twenty-five competitors to devour a 9-inch pie, hands-free, in the fastest time possible.

On Thursday, the one-day-only Key Lime Pie Hop presents a downtown tasting tour featuring seven creative interpretations of the island’s iconic dessert, while Friday’s Key Lime Sip & Stroll lets participants sample and vote for their favorite Key lime infused cocktails and margaritas.

The zest also brings Mary Ellen’s Bar’s wild “Wheeling & Dealing Hot Wheels Race,” Sloppy Joe’s “Ultimate Key Lime Smash Party,” where local celebrities take whipped cream pies to the face to benefit charity, and “Pub Style Trivia with a Key Lime Twist” at the Southernmost Beach Resort. New this year, Kava Key presents a “Pirates of the Key Lime – Curse of the Tartiest Pie” event, featuring a homemade dessert contest, pirate costume competition, mocktail showdown and treasure chest raffle.

Elsewhere around the island, festival-goers can enjoy a night of Havana-inspired salsa, rumba, and cha-cha at the La Concha Key West Hotel; multiple Key lime-inspired dining experiences, the Rotary Club of Key West’s annual Fireworks Celebration, Key West Artisan Market’s Red, White, Blue & Green Edition at Higgs Beach, and JF Haden’s Battle of the Bartenders at The Marker Key West Harbor Resort.

On Sunday, festival goers can wind down with a dockside brunch at Matt’s Stock Island Kitchen & Bar at The Perry Hotel before indulging in festival finale favorites including SpaTerre’s “Key Lime in the Coconut” spa treatment at Ocean Key Resort, Key Lime Rum Tastings at the Key West First Legal Rum Distillery, decadent desserts at Better Than Sex, and other sweet sendoffs.

Launched in 2013 by author and historian David Sloan and Wonderdog Studios founder Marky Pierson, the family-friendly Key Lime Festival celebrates the dessert the Florida Legislature named the state’s official pie in 2006. The festival is presented in part by the Monroe County Tourist Development Council and We’ve Got the Keys.

For full event schedule, advance registration, reservations and additional information, visit www.keylimefestival.com.

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