His long-established nickname is “Bat,” and even many friends don’t know his real name is David. But now Bat Masterson has a new nickname: “Papa.” That’s because Bat recently won the Hemingway Look-Alike Contest, a highlight of Key West's Hemingway Days festival that ended July 21 — the 125th anniversary of “Papa” Hemingway’s birth.
Key West’s Hemingway Days — set this year for July 16-21 — is an internationally recognized celebration saluting Ernest Hemingway, the legendary American author who lived and wrote on the island for almost a decade. But when Michael Whalton conceived the festival more than 40 years ago, he couldn’t possibly foresee what it would become.
Sometimes in Key West, people get that “sinking feeling.” It happens each Memorial Day weekend when they compete in the weird and wonderful Schooner Wharf Minimal Regatta — where, in the course of one wacky afternoon, many participating vessels simply disintegrate in the water, leaving their “captains” dogpaddling intrepidly while spectators howl with laughter.
Fans of sweet, tart Key lime pie can salute the Florida Keys’ signature dessert, and the tiny fruit that inspired it, July 3-7 during the annual Key Lime Festival. Events include a (very messy!) Key lime pie–eating contest, “limey” dining delights, a wacky Key lime pie drop, and culinary and libation tastings.
Visitors to Key West will find palm-shaded streets, picturesque historic homes, a lively multicultural culinary scene and a flourishing arts community. But perhaps the most appealing aspect is the mellow, easygoing pace of life — a pace that inspires new arrivals to release everyday pressures, breathe deeply and absorb the island’s revitalizing rhythm.
For those who can’t travel to the Florida Keys this spring for the amazing diving, the island chain’s enthralling subsea world can be explored through the free streaming channel and app, FloridaKeysTV. It features hours of quality underwater programming — including the Keys-focused “Destination Dive” series — to inspire ideas for an upcoming visit.
The Florida Keys are putting Earth Day in the spotlight with activities on and around April 22, the globally commemorated “birthday” of the modern environmental movement. Of course, every day is a reason to celebrate the beauty of the planet in the Keys, home to spectacular natural wonders on both land and sea.
In most places, beds are reserved for sleeping or amorous activities. But not in the Florida Keys’ colorful Conch Republic — where, on a Saturday afternoon in late April each year, beds on wheels are propelled by teams of strange bedfellows along Key West’s Duval Street in the Conch Republic Blue Ribbon Bed Race.
Florida Keys fun fact: Years ago, during an action-packed confrontation between Arnold Schwarzenegger and a pack of dastardly villains, missile strikes blew up the Keys’ Old Seven Mile Bridge. Okay, that isn’t STRICTLY factual, but it’s based on fact — one of many offbeat facts that give the island chain an engagingly colorful vibe.
Maybe chart-topping rock stars aren’t abandoning their guitars to play the conch shell. But that’s okay — because the “pucker pros” playing pink-lined shells were treated like rock stars at Key West’s recent Conch Shell Blowing Contest. The event saluted the Florida Keys’ seafaring heritage and centuries-old use of the “conch horn” for signaling.