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| Hemingway Days 2013 |
Every July, literary fans and Papa lookalikes gather at Key West's famous Sloppy Joe's Bar to celebrate the birthday of Ernest Hemingway with a six day fiesta, complete with birthday cake. More than a birthday party, it is a celebration of a man's life, lived to the fullest, and to the contributions he made to literature and the arts.
The annual Hemingway Days Festival features a short story contest, a marlin fishing tournament, a Pamplona-esque "Running of the Bulls", and even an arm wrestling tournament, but the most famous competition is the annual Papa lookalike contest. This year more than 125 contestants competed for the title in a three-night event at Sloppy Joe's Bar. In his seventh attempt, Stephen Terry of Palm Harbor took home the ultimate prize of Papa Lookalike 2013.
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| Papa lookalikes prepare for the Running of the Bulls |
Any true fan knows that Hemingway was a bullfighting aficionado, so no festival would be complete without a tribute to this pastime. The highlight of Saturday afternoon was the iconic Running of the Bulls. Papa lookalikes pushed large wooden bulls around the block to hordes of cheering fans while Spanish music blared from the speakers of Sloppy Joe's. While it doesn't quite equal the passion and danger of Pamplona, this fun tradition captures the joie de vivre that Hemingway's Key West days embodied.
There is also a larger purpose to this festival. The Hemingway Lookalike Society kicked off the celebrations by providing ten $1000 scholarships to local college students who will study nursing or literature this fall. This element of helping the next generation of nurses and writers was perhaps the most moving tribute of all to the legacy of a man who epitomized the spirit of Key West.
There is also a larger purpose to this festival. The Hemingway Lookalike Society kicked off the celebrations by providing ten $1000 scholarships to local college students who will study nursing or literature this fall. This element of helping the next generation of nurses and writers was perhaps the most moving tribute of all to the legacy of a man who epitomized the spirit of Key West.
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| Hemingway in his Key West studio, 1939 |
Would you like to be a part of Hemingway Days 2014 or do you dream of living in the city that Ernest Hemingway called home from 1928-1939?
Your dream is our business!
Visit us at KW Royal Palms Realty for information about properties for sale or rent in Key West...
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