Hundreds of contestants gather for Ernest Hemingway look-alike contest in Key West

KEY WEST, Fla. - Hundreds of people gathered in Key West last week for ‘Hemingway Days’ over six decades after the death of the legendary writer, Ernest Hemingway, and some of them might look familiar.

In one of its biggest annual celebrations, Key West honors its most famous former resident. One of its highlights is the Hemingway Lookalike Contest at Sloppy Joe's Bar, featuring several men with ‘Papa Hemingway’s' white beard.  

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Seventy-one-year-old David ‘Bat’ Masterson beat out 121 other ‘Ernests’ in contention for the contest. Jay Fleece, of St. Petersburg, was also one of the six finalists in the competition. 

The five-day event also includes a ‘Running of the Bulls’ spoof with Hemingway lookalikes parading through the island city's downtown area on replica bulls. 

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Hemingway, who penned iconic books like ‘For Whom the Bell Tolls’ and ‘The Old Man and the Sea’ was born on July 21, 1899. He lived in Key West during the 1930s.