This week Key West has been busy celebrating the life of one of its most famed residents ever to call the island home, Ernest Hemingway, or as the locals used to call him, Papa. From July 19th to the 24th, the 31st Annual Hemingway Days celebration rages. Some of the scheduled events include a Papa lookalike contest, the running of the bulls, an arm wrestling competition, readings from nationally recognized authors, an offshore fishing tournament, the Drambuie, and a literary competition presided over by none other than Hemingway’s own granddaughter, Lorian Hemingway.
Hemingway was a force of nature. He was not only an accomplished writer, but he was a consummate athelete and adventurer. Hemingway left an indelible mark on Key West, where he lived in the 1930’s and wrote a number of his works from. This annual celebration which takes place every year on the week of his birth, is just one testament to that mark. It is amazing to think that this great man who has not lived on the island since the 1930’s and has not lived since the 1960’s is still so influential in our world that he has almost singlehandedly commanded the presence of enough people to join in the celebrations in his honor to practically sell out every hotel room on the island. Papa would be proud!
If you did not make it to the celebration this year, plan on it for next year. Hemingway Days is an entertaining celebration in honor of a legendary man. And if you can’t make it down in July, you can still come down to Key West anytime of year to partake in some deep sea fishing that Papa so loved, visit the Hemingway House and Museum, or hang in at Sloppy Joe’s and Captain Tony’s.
For more information about Key West or Ernest Hemingway you can reach us at 305-292-7212. And check out www.gotothekeys.com for lots of island information.
Island Genn – Your Key West Concierge
