Hemingway days return to Key West again this summer

His zest for life, literary accomplishments and enduring affection for the island he called home throughout the 1930s are to be commemorated Tuesday through Sunday, July 15-20, during the annual Hemingway Days celebration.

The schedule includes a popular look-alike contest, authors' readings and presentations, a book signing for a children's book by Hemingway grandson Edward Hemingway, an exhibition of rare Hemingway memorabilia, a three-day marlin tournament, an offbeat "Running of the Bulls" and the culmination of a short story contest directed by author and Hemingway granddaughter Lorian Hemingway.

The festival's leading literary event is the announcement of the winners of the Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. Now in its 28th year, the internationally recognized contest awards $2,000 annually to emerging writers of short fiction.

Lorian Hemingway, a critically acclaimed author, is to announce the victorious writers and introduce the first-place story at an 8 p.m. reception Friday, July 18. The awards gala is to take place at Casa Antigua, 314 Simonton St., where Ernest Hemingway stayed during the 1928 visit that paved the way for his subsequent residence in Key West. Plans call for the event to include a presentation on the property's remarkable history by its owner, publisher Tom Oosterhoudt.

An unquestioned festival standout is Sloppy Joe's "Papa" Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, now in its 28th year. The competition traditionally draws as many as 125 stocky, bearded men to compete at Sloppy Joe's Bar, 201 Duval St., the late author's favourite Key West watering hole. Past look-alike winners choose the victor from the field of aspiring Ernest's.

Preliminary rounds are scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday, July 17 and 18, with the selection of the proud "Papa" set for Saturday night in front of a standing-room-only crowd.

The "Papas" also take part in other festival activities, including the infamous "Running of the Bulls" - a zany salute to Pamplona's sporting challenge that rampages through the Key West streets beginning at 1 p.m. Saturday, July 19. No actual bulls are allowed in the light-hearted melee, but spectators can expect to spot manmade bovine replicas.

Other look-alike events traditionally include public photo opportunities, a dockside "fish-off" and scholarship presentations to Florida Keys students.