When former Key West resident Michael Whalton conceived Hemingway Days more than 40 years ago, he couldn’t possibly foresee it would become a continuing, internationally recognized celebration of the island’s best-known inhabitant.
At the time, he was a day manager at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, famed as a hangout of Ernest Hemingway’s when he lived in 1930s Key West.
Whalton directed the festival for 16 years before moving to West Virginia in the Mid-1990s. In July 2023, he traveled back to Key West to experience Hemingway Days for the first time since his departure. During his visit, he reflected on the iconic event’s origin, growth and continued significance - particularly meaningful as the 2024 festival celebrates Ernest Hemingway’s 125th birthday.
Schedule:
10:00am to 10:00pm: (Duval Street closure ) Caribbean Street Fair to benefit Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) Monroe County, Inc. Key West’s annual Hemingway Birthday Celebration provides an excellent opportunity for Florida’s artisans and food vendors to display and sell their works during the one-day Caribbean Street Fair on world-renowned Duval Street. If you are interested in being a vendor, download the vendor application.
12:00pm Photos with “Papas.” Hemingway Look-Alikes, Wannabes, and Bulls provide a photo opportunity for fans. Greene Street outside Sloppy Joe’s.
HLAS will sell red berets and red bandanas (limited quantities) beginning at 12:00pm on Saturdays. Those wishing to wear traditional white clothing with a red sash need to be prepared and bring their own clothing (these items are not sold).
1:00pm: Annual ‘Running’ of the Bulls. This wacky event, sponsored by Sloppy Joe’s Bar, features past “Papa” Hemingway Look-Alike Contest winners dressed in their Pamplona best and a breed of “bull” found only in Key West. The fun takes place on Greene Street outside Sloppy Joe’s.
5:00pm: Finalist Contestants must check in at the registration table at Sloppy Joe’s.
6:30pm: Sloppy Joe’s 43rd Annual Hemingway Look-Alike Contest - FINAL ROUND with the ‘crowning’ of Papa 2024. (Live Auction benefiting the HLAS Scholarship Fund immediately following the final round while awaiting results.
Date: July 17-21, 2024
