2026 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

All information / data courtesy of the event organizers. Please visit their link for tickets and updates where applicable. (Information subject to changes and errors and omissions.)

Happening Throughout the Event

• Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. The competition started in 1981 and has awarded over $70,000 to writers of merit. More information may be found at www.shortstorycompetition.com.
• Daily Tours of the Hemingway Home & Museum at 907 Whitehead Street.  Visit https://www.hemingwayhome.com for more information.
• July 22-25, 2026, the Key West Marlin Tournament, offering cash prizes for top catches of marlin and other fish, attracts up to 75 registered boats and their crews. The tournament, held Wednesday through Saturday during the annual Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, is a world-class fishing event hosted at the Perry Hotel and Marina in the Lower Keys.  More information is available at www.keywestmarlin.com.
• July 25-26, 2026: Hemingway 5K Sunset Run (5K Sunset Race by Key West Half Marathon).

TUESDAY, July 21, 2026

• 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. “Hemingway Collection” Museum Day at the Custom House. Discover rare artifacts and memorabilia from Hemingway’s life, a full-size bronze of the author and 59 original pen-and-ink drawings by famed marine wildlife artist Guy Harvey that provide a visual narrative to Hemingway’s novel, “The Old Man and the Sea.” Key West Museum of Art & History at the Custom House, 281 Front St. Free entry to those who mention Hemingway Days at the admission desk. Visit www.kwahs.org.
• 7:00 p.m. Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition Announcement and Reading & “The Beard Also Rises” Screening • “Beards Go To Cuba” Preview at Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton Street
  • Celebrate the 127th anniversary of Ernest Hemingway’s July 21 birth — with the announcement and first reading of the winning entry in the renowned Lorian Hemingway Short Story Competition. Then “meet” the Papa Look-Alikes in “The Beard Also Rises,” a lively short film by Cassidy Rast and Odin Wadleigh … and view a sneak preview of their “Beards Go to Cuba,” debuting at film festivals in fall 2026.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 22, 2026

• 12:00 p.m. & 2:00 p.m. “Hemingway Cocktails” at the Key West Cooking Show, 291 Front St. upstairs. Learn to mix drinks, including the Hemingway Daiquiri, created especially for Papa, and the Death in the Afternoon that he invented. Also during the stir-and-sip session, discover memorabilia that recalls Ernest’s Key West life — from a model of his fishing boat Pilar to his buddy Charles Thompson’s fish mounts. Advance booking required; visit keywestcookingshow.com and use the code “PAPA10” for a $10 discount (valid only for 12 p.m. or 2 p.m. session on July 22).
• 5:00 – 7:00 p.m. Meet & Greet the “Papas” at Sloppy Joe’s Bar. Get to know the contestants and previous winners of the Sloppy Joe’s Hemingway® Look-Alike Contest.
• 7:30 p.m. “The Old Man and the Sea“ Tropic Cinema, 416 Eaton Street
  • View the classic 1958 film based on Hemingway’s Nobel Prize–winning book, “The Old Man and the Sea.” Spencer Tracy gives a compelling performance as Santiago, a Cuban fisherman whose battle with a giant marlin is an epic test of physical and spiritual strength.

THURSDAY, JULY 23, 2026

• 11:00 a.m. “A Hemingway Feast” at the Key West Cooking Show, 291 Front St. upstairs. Savor traditional Key West dishes from Papa’s era, and learn to prepare them, during an entertaining experience that spotlights local food and culture. The learn-and-dine adventure even features “grits-n-grunts,” mentioned in Hemingway’s Key West novel “To Have and Have Not.” Advance booking required; visit keywestcookingshow.com and use the code “PAPA10” for a $10 discount (valid only for the 11 a.m. event on July 23).
• At 5:00 p.m. Round One check-in contestants must check in at the registration table to pick up their name tags and event shirts.
• 5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. “Following the Fish: Hemingway in Key West” Comedy Key West, 218 Whitehead Street, #5
  • Raise a toast to Key West history and Ernest Hemingway’s angling legacy with Key West Art & Historical Society Curator Cori Convertito, Ph.D., during her popular “Happy Hour with the Historian” program. The Nobel Prize-winning author, who lived and wrote in Key West during the 1930s, immersed himself in Florida Keys game fishing. Convertito will share insights on both his angling exploits and his lesser-known conservation activities. For tickets, visit www.kwahs.org/whats-on/.
• 5:30 p.m. Introduction “Welcome” to the Contest by David Douglas, president of the Hemingway Look-Alike Society & Jeff Allen, CEO of Sloppy Joe’s.
• 6:00 p.m. Hemingway Look-Alike Society Scholarship Presentations. The society will announce the winners of its annual scholarships for the College of the Florida Keys students on stage at Sloppy Joe’s Bar.
• 6:30 p.m. Sloppy Joe’s 45th Annual Hemingway® Look-Alike Contest – Preliminary Round One on stage at Sloppy Joe’s. Contestants will be narrowed down to approximately 12 finalists to advance to Saturday night’s final round. (Live Auction benefiting the HLAS Scholarship Fund immediately following preliminary round one, while awaiting results) View Contest Results

FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2026

• 1:30 p.m. Papa Hemingway Look-Alike Fish-Off.  Cheer your favorites as the Papas & Wannabes compete in this dockside catch-and-release challenge using traditional “Cuban Yo-Yos” at Conch Republic Seafood Company docks, 631 Greene Street.  Free to watch. (Silent Auction benefiting the HLAS Scholarship Fund during Fish-Off)
• 5:00 p.m. Round Two Contestants Check in at the registration table to pick up the name tag and event shirt.
• 6:30 p.m. Sloppy Joe’s 45th Annual Hemingway® Look-Alike Contest – Preliminary Round Two on stage at Sloppy Joe’s. Contestants will be narrowed down to approximately 12 finalists to advance to Saturday night’s final round. (Live Auction benefiting the HLAS Scholarship Fund immediately following preliminary round two, while awaiting results) View Contest Results

SATURDAY, JULY 25, 2026

• 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. (Duval Street closure ) Caribbean Street Fair to benefit Literacy Volunteers of America (LVA) Monroe County, Inc. Key West’s annual Hemingway Birthday Celebration provides an excellent opportunity for Florida’s artisans and food vendors to display and sell their works during the one-day Caribbean Street Fair on world-renowned Duval Street.  If you are interested in being a vendor, download the vendor application.
• Noon: Photos with “Papas.” Hemingway® Look-Alikes, Wannabes, Papas, and Bulls provide a photo opportunity for fans. Greene Street outside Sloppy Joe’s.
  • HLAS will sell red berets and red bandanas (limited quantities) beginning at 12 Noon on Saturday. Those wishing to wear traditional white clothing with a red sash need to be prepared and bring their own clothing (these items are not sold).
• 1:00 p.m. Annual ‘Running’ of the Bulls. This wacky event, sponsored by Sloppy Joe’s Bar, features past “Papa” Hemingway® Look-Alike Contest winners dressed in their Pamplona best and a breed of “bull” found only in Key West. The fun takes place on Greene Street outside Sloppy Joe’s.
• 5:30 p.m. Finalist Contestants must check in at the registration table at Sloppy Joe’s.
• 6:30 p.m. Sloppy Joe’s 45th Annual Hemingway® Look-Alike Contest – FINAL ROUND with the ‘crowning’ of Papa 2026. (Live Auction benefiting the HLAS Scholarship Fund immediately following the final round, while awaiting results. View Contest Results

SUNDAY, JULY 26, 2026

• 9:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Papa Birthday Bash at Sloppy Joe’s – Bloody Marys with Papas (cash bar), Photo Opportunities with Papa 2026 & Papa birthday cake at noon.
• 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. “Hemingway Collection” Museum Day at the Custom House. Discover rare artifacts and memorabilia from Hemingway’s life, a full-size bronze of the author, and 59 original pen-and-ink drawings by famed marine wildlife artist Guy Harvey that provide a visual narrative to Hemingway’s novel, “The Old Man and the Sea.” Key West Museum of Art & History at the Custom House, 281 Front St. Free entry to those who mention Hemingway Days at the admission desk. Visit www.kwahs.org.
• 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. “Papa’s Tales” Storytelling Competition, Hemingway Social Club @Hemingway Distillery, 201 Simonton Street (Corner of Greene and Simonton)
  • Saluting Ernest’s storytelling skill, this fun-filled contest is for tale-spinners who can enthrall audiences with a spoken-word story of three minutes or less. Entrants in two competition categories will be judged on criteria including style, delivery, and originality. Entry is free, and the grand prize includes the prestigious Barrel Head Trophy. https://www.papaspilar.com