Hemingway Days (July 19-24)

BY MAGGIE OLIVE KLEIN

KONKLIFE STAFF WRITER AND EDITOR

Hemingway Days 2022, an annual Key West festival, is being held from July 19-24. The festival celebrates American novelist Ernest Hemingway for his time on the island, his passion for sports, and his various writing achievements. The festival originally started in 1981 at Sloppy Joe’s, and has been occurring mid-July annually ever since. 

Hemingway lived in Key West from 1931 to late 1939, a period in which he wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls, Death in the Afternoon, The Green Hills of Africa, and many short stories. He resided in a Spanish Colonial residence on Whitehead Street, and did his writing in a small studio behind it. During his time here, Hemingway was a regular at what is now Sloppy Joe’s, a bar which has honored his legacy, and been a host of one of the main events of the annual Hemingway Days.

The six day event will feature a bunch of activities for locals and visitors to participate in, including fishing tournaments, a 5k sunset run/walk and paddle boarding race, and, most importantly, Sloppy Joe’s 41st annual Hemingway® Look-Alike Contest. Thursday is the first round, followed by the second on Friday, and the final round is on Saturday. There is a $35 entry fee, and the contest is judged by former winners. Hemingway look-alikes will be storming Sloppy Joe’s, all competing to be triumphant on the last round. The contest is free to watch, so even if you dont look like the Nobel Prize-winning author, you can still enjoy the competition. 

On its first and last days, the festival highlights an exhibit at the Custom House Museum, located at 281 Front Street, which features rare artifacts and items from Hemingway’s life. On these days, July 19th and 24th, visits to the Custom House Museum are free for those that mention Hemingway upon arrival. 

Another exciting aspect of the festival is the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition, which began in 1981, by Lorian, Ernest’s granddaughter, and recognizes the work of short fiction writers. The winners of the competition will be announced on Wednesday, July 20th at 6PM at Key West’s Monroe County Public Library. 

There will also be a commemoration of the 123rd of the author’s birthday on July 21st at Sloppy Joe’s, in which Ernest’s birthday will be celebrated with cake at 5:30 PM. 

We are so excited for the 2022 annual celebration of Ernest Hemingway, and can’t wait to see what this years Hemingway Days has in store for Key West!

[livemarket market_name="KONK Life LiveMarket" limit=3 category=“” show_signup=0 show_more=0]