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Hemingway Days

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Not to be confused with the International Imitation Hemingway Competition.
Hemingway Days
FrequencyAnnually
VenueSloppy Joe's
Location(s)Key West, Florida
Years active1981-present
FounderMichael Walton

Hemingway Days is an annual celebration of the life of Nobel Prize winning author Ernest Hemingway in Key West, Florida. The festival runs for three days each year, coinciding with July 21, Hemingway's birthday. The festival was founded in 1981 by Michael Walton as a promotional stunt for Sloppy Joe's Bar, of which Hemingway was a frequent patron when he lived in Key West. It most notably features the yearly Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, which is operated by the Hemingway Look-Alike Society.

Other attractions include a “running of the bulls” spoof, a street fair and the Key West Marlin Tournament which is a fishing competition,[1] and a short story competition.[2]

Background

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Hemingway frequently went fishing while living in Key West
Main article: Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway lived in Key West, Florida, for 12 years,[3] mostly when he was in his 30s;[4] he visited and then quickly moved to the island in 1928[3] and lived there until late 1939.[5] During this time, he published A Farewell to Arms (1929), which he had already written,[4] and wrote some of his most famous works including To Have and Have Not (1937) and For Whom the Bell Tolls (1940),[5] the former being about Key West during the Great Depression. He covered the Spanish Civil War in the late 1930s.[4]

Spending his mornings writing and the rest of the day fishing and drinking,[3] he became a frequent patron of Sloppy Joe's Bar in this period of his life,[6] and spent time big-game fishing with local fishermen he made friends with, eventually obtaining his own boat, the Pilar, in 1934.[4]

History

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Sloppy Joe's Bar

In December 1980,[7] manager of Sloppy Joe's Bar Michael Walton read about a Bad Hemingway Contest in which writers parody Hemingway's writing style. As a promotional stunt for Sloppy Joe's Bar, he decided to centre a look-alike contest and other events around Hemingway's birthday on July 21, during a slow, humid season for the bar. Hemingway Days thus began in 1981, featuring a short story competition, the Hemingway Look-Alike Contest,[4] a Caribbean street fair, an arm wrestling tournament, and a "running of the bulls".[8] The literary aspect of the occasion was relatively lightweight, with an emphasis being placed on its social side, and the bull running portion of the event was retired due to safety issues in the summer weather.[8] On one early year, the United States Postmaster General unveiled a first-day-of issue 25 cent stamp bearing Hemingway's image.[8]

Walton moved to West Virginia in the mid-1990s after 16 years running the event.[7] It was not held in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[6] with most contestants being between 60 and 80 years old, an age group susceptible to the virus.[9]

Hemingway Look-Alike Contest

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Contestants often mimic Hemingway in his later years, known as "Papa", rather than his appearance when he lived in Key West in his 30s.

The Hemingway Look-Alike Contest is an annual contest held since Hemingway Days' first event in 1981. It is held at Sloppy Joe's. in which contestants compete to be Hemingway's best look-alike. It is held by the Hemingway Look-Alike Society.[5]

The contest takes place over three days, with two preliminary rounds, and a final taking place on the last day. Previous winners of the competition form a panel of judges. Contestants, who are often "heavy-set" men and largely wear khakis or fishermen’s sweaters,[2] take turns to imitate Hemingway's mannerisms, often adopting the "Papa" persona from Hemingway's later years.[1] As a result, winners are often referred to as "Papas", whereas contestants who have not won are called "Wannabes"[10] No cash prize is offered for the winner. A spokesman for the society stated in 2015 that some competitors had returned to compete in the contest for up to 20 years without winning.[2]

History

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The contest has been held since Hemingway Days' first event in 1981, inspired by the Bad Hemingway Contest that Whalton read about in 1980. For its first iteration, Whalton simply "called everybody [he] knew in Key West who ha[d] a beard."[4]

The Hemingway Look-Alike Society was later established. Over time, it developed into a service organization which, as of July 2024, has funded more than $350,000 in scholarships for Florida Keys students and sponsors a youth baseball team in Cuba. David Douglas, who had begun attending the contest in 2000 and won it in 2009, is the current president of the society as of July 2024.[4] During the 2023 festival, the Hemingway Look-Alike Society amassed close to $125,000 for scholarships for Keys students.[5] In 2024, eighteen of its society members visited Havana to honor Hemingway amidst tense relations between Cuba and the United States.[11]

Contests

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Year Contestants Winner Age Notes Ref.
1981 (1st) 36 Tom Feeney The contest was judged by Hemingway's brother Leicester Hemingway. [10][12][13]
1982 (2nd) Richard Parrish [13]
1983 (3rd) Leo Rost [13]
1984 (4th) Bill Young [13]
1985 (5th) Michael Dallette [13]
1986 (6th) Fred Johnson [13]
1987 (7th) Jack Waterbury [13]
1988 (8th) Tom Cosselman [13]
1989 (9th) Richard Royston [13]
1990 (10th) Fred Burnham [13]
1991 (11th) Bob Anderson [13]
1992 (12th) George Burley [13]
1993 (13th) Frank Meitz [13]
1994 (14th) John Peterson [13]
1995 (15th) 102 Bill Fountain [8][13]
1996 (16th) Roger Hegemier [13]
1997 (17th) Bart Barton [13]
1998 (18th) Don Duncan [13]
1999 (19th) Rick Kirvan [13]
2000 (20th) Carlie Coley [13]
2001 (21st) Denny Woods [13]
2002 (22nd) Ron Thomas [13]
2003 (23rd) Mike Stack [13]
2004 (24th) John Stubbings [13]
2005 (25th) Bob Doughty [13]
2006 (26th) Chris Storm [13]
2007 (27th) Larry Austin [13]
2008 (28th) Tom Grizzard [13]
2009 (29th) 140 David Douglas 55 Douglas had begun attending the contest in 2000, and later became president of the Hemingway Look-Alike Society. [4][14]
2010 (30th) 124 Charles Bicht 64 Bicht won on his twelfth attempt. [15][16]
2011 (31st) 121 Matt Gineo 64 Gineo, a biomedical engineer, won on his twelfth attempt. He stated that it "was something that I had in my heart to do, but I didn't know how many years it would take". [17]
2012 (32nd) 140 Greg Fawcett 64 Frank Louderback, a Florida attourney, asked U.S. District Court Judge Steven Merryday to suspend a trial so he could participate in the contest. The judge denied his request. Fawcett, an investment banker, won on his 10th attempt and credited this win to establishing camaraderie with the judges, timing his haircuts and trimming his beard. [18][16]
2013 (33rd) 126 Stephen Terry 56 Photographer Henry Hargreaves attended and created a photo series called Becoming Hemingway in which he attempted to recreate Yousef Karsh's 1957 photograph of the writer. [10][19][12]
2014 (34th) 131 Wally Collins Collins won on his sixth try against contestants who included his own son. [20][10]
2015 (35th) 122 Charlie Boice 56 Boice, a retired air traffic controller, won on his fifteenth attempt. [21]
2016 (36th) Dave Hemingway The contest made headlines due to the winner having the surname Hemingway. Dave Hemingway said he was not related to the author. He won on his seventh attempt. [22][23]
2017 (37th) 153 Richard Fillip 71 Fillip piloted a replica of Hemingway's fishing boat Pilar from Miami to Key West to compete in the contest. [24]
2018 (38th) 151 Michael Groover 62 Groover, the husband of celebrity chef Paula Deen, won on his ninth attempt. [25]
2019 (39th) 142 Joe Maxey 68 A retired banker, Maxey won on his eighth attempt. [26]
2020 Cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. [6]
2021 (40th) 137 Zach Taylor [27][10]
2022 (41st) 124 Jon Auvil 65 Auvil, a real estate attourney, won on his eighth attempt. [28][6]
2023 (42nd) Almost 140 Gerrit Marshall 68 Marshall, a retired television broadcast engineer, won the contest on his 68th birthday and on his eleventh attempt. [1][29][5]
2024 (43rd) 122 David "Bat" Masterson Masterson is a helicopter pilot. He won on his tenth attempt by singing a themed parody of the Garth Brooks song "Friends in Low Places". [30]

Other events

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Hemingway Days' Running of the Bulls contest is a parody of the running of the bulls run held in Pamplona, Spain, in which the Hemingway look-alikes parade through downtown Key West with a "herd" of life-size fake bulls on wheels.[31] A Hemingway Days Writers' Workshop and Conference was introduced in 1989, being conducted by Dr. James Plath.[8] As of 2015, an annual short story competition at the event was run by Lorian Hemingway, Hemingway's granddaughter.[2] A street fair and the Key West Marlin Tournament, which is a fishing competition are also held.[1]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Annual Hemingway Look-Alike Contest begins in Florida Keys". The Independent. July 21, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  2. ^ a b c d Flood, Alison (July 22, 2015). "Top Papa: the Ernest Hemingway lookalike contest for 'heavy-set men with a full beard'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  3. ^ a b c Scott, McIntyre (August 12, 2022). "The Old Men and the Sea". The New York Times. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h Fischer, David (July 21, 2024). "Ernest Hemingway fans celebrate the author's 125th birthday in his beloved Key West". Associated Press. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c d e "Bell tolls for Wisconsin man who wins Hemingway look-alike contest". Associated Press. July 23, 2023. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "Men without women: Florida attorney wins Hemingway Look-Alike crown". The Guardian. July 24, 2022. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Hemingway Days Founder Michael Whalton Recalls Festival's Origin". The Florida Keys & Key West. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  8. ^ a b c d e Davies, Alan I (1995). "Florida's Hemingway festival". The Contemporary Review. 267 – via Humanities Full Text.
  9. ^ "Key West to skip Hemingway Look-Alike Contest this year". Associated Press. May 1, 2020. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  10. ^ a b c d e Sheppard, Elena (July 30, 2021). "Hemingway 'wannabes' celebrate author with lookalike contest". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  11. ^ "Hemingway look-alikes visit Cuba and some of the late writer's favorite places". Associated Press. December 8, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  12. ^ a b "The Old Men And The Sweater: The Ernest Hemingway Look-Alike Contest". CBC News. August 3, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab "Contest Winners". Hemingway Look-Alike Society. July 11, 2024. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  14. ^ Newman, Andy (July 26, 2009). "Texan wins Hemingway look-alike contest". NBC News. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  15. ^ "An old man who lives by the sea wins contest". The Ledger. July 26, 2010. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  16. ^ a b Casiano, Louis (June 29, 2012). "Attorney asks for day off trial to enter Ernest Hemingway look-a-like contest". NBC News. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  17. ^ "The old man and the Ernest Hemingway lookalike". The Independent. July 26, 2011. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  18. ^ "N.C. Man Beats Out 139 As Hemingway Look-Alike". The Ledger. July 23, 2012. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  19. ^ Redman, Laura Dannen (July 15, 2014). "Ernest Hemingway Lookalikes Are Flocking to Key West". Condé Nast Traveler. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  20. ^ "Papa's Double: Arizona Man Named Hemingway Look-Alike". The Ledger. July 21, 2014. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  21. ^ "Florida Man Wins Hemingway Look-Alike Contest in Key West". NBC News. July 26, 2015. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  22. ^ "For him the bell tolls: Hemingway wins Florida Hemingway lookalike contest". The Guardian. July 24, 2016. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  23. ^ "Man Named Hemingway Wins Hemingway Look-Alike Contest in Key West". ABC News. July 25, 2016. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  24. ^ "White-bearded Texan wins Hemingway Look-Alike Contest". Associated Press. July 23, 2017. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  25. ^ "The husband also rises: Mr Paula Deen wins Hemingway lookalike contest". The Guardian. July 22, 2018. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  26. ^ "Old men by the sea: Tennessee banker takes Hemingway lookalike contest". The Guardian. July 21, 2019. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  27. ^ "Hemingway 'lookalike' chosen in Florida contest". BBC News. July 26, 2021. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  28. ^ "Hemingway look-alike winner named in Key West - CBS Miami". CBS News. July 25, 2022. Retrieved November 30, 2024.
  29. ^ "Bell tolls for Wisconsin man who wins the Ernest Hemingway look-alike contest". NPR. July 24, 2023. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
  30. ^ "Florida helicopter pilot crowned new "Papa" at Hemingway look-alike contest in Key West - CBS Miami". CBS News. July 22, 2024. Retrieved November 29, 2024.
  31. ^ "Hemingway Look-Alikes Spoof 'Running Of The Bulls' In Key West - CBS Miami". CBS News. July 25, 2015. Retrieved December 11, 2024.
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