Sloppy Joe’s Hemingway® Look-Alike Contest
Dozens of stocky, white-bearded men are to flock to Ernest Hemingway’s 1930s island retreat to compete in Sloppy Joe’s Hemingway® Look-Alike Contest set for Thursday through Saturday, July 15-24, 2024. The contest takes place at Sloppy Joe’s Bar, 201 Duval St., where the legendary author often enjoyed cocktails with literary and local cohorts. The event is a highlight of the annual Hemingway Days celebration of his writing talent, sporting pursuits and colorful Key West lifestyle.
Since the contest’s inception in 1981, aspiring “Ernests” have come from around the United States and many other countries to compete. Often dressed in khaki safari garb or wool fisherman’s sweaters that recall Hemingway’s typical attire, they step onto Sloppy Joe’s stage and attempt to impress a judging panel of previous contest winners.
The festival’s other look-alike highlights include Sloppy Joe’s “Running of the Bulls,” inspired by the world-renowned run in Pamplona, Spain, but featuring look-alikes promenading with fake bulls. Preceded by a photo opportunity at noon, the extravaganza begins at 1 p.m. Saturday outside Sloppy Joe’s.
Also scheduled:
- “Meet and Greet” at Sloppy Joe’s, with a chance to sing “Happy Birthday” in commemoration of Hemingway’s July 21 birth.
- The bearded brethren will announce the recipients of the Hemingway Look-Alike Society’s annual scholarships
- Fans will cheer their favorites in the “Papa” Hemingway Look-Alike Fish-Off, a dockside catch-&-release challenge using traditional “Cuban yo-yos” at the Conch Republic Seafood Co. docks, 631 Greene St.
- 3-day marlin tournament, a museum exhibit of rare Hemingway memorabilia, literary readings, a 5k run; paddleboard race, a street fair
- Announcement of the winner of the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. Ernest Hemingway lived in Key West for most of the 1930s, writing “For Whom the Bell Tolls,” “The Snows of Kilimanjaro” and “To Have and Have Not” among other literary classics.
Event information: hemingwaydays.net and sloppyjoes.com
