Hemingway lookalikes take to streets of Key West

Fans celebrate author's birthday with mock Pamplona bull run

KEY WEST, Fla. – The Florida Keys celebrated Ernest Hemingway's 119th birthday Saturday with more than a hundred would-be Hemmingways taking to the streets of Key West.

The scores of bearded lookalikes re-enacted Pamplona's famous "running of the bulls" with bovine-inspired carts standing in for the real fearsome beasts. The homage centered on Sloppy Joe's Bar, a favorite haunt of the famous author when he lived on the island in the 1930s.

More than 150 people from across the globe are competing in the annual look-a-like contest this weekend. The winner will be announced Saturday night.

Semifinalists include Michael Bull of Dalkeith, Australia; Knut Franstad of Siggerud, Norway; and repeat contender Michael Groover of Savannah, Georgia, the husband of celebrity chef Paula Deen.

The festivities are part of a three-day event honoring the author of classics such "The Old Man and the Sea" and "The Sun Also Rises." He died in 1961.