For better or for worse, whether you revere him as an exemplar of American fiction or criticize him for being a man’s man, Ernest Hemingway has forever etched himself into the American literary canon. If the debate over Hemingway’s literary worthiness leaves you tired and bored, you can escape to a place where “Papa”—as he was so lovingly known near the end of his life—is remembered more like an old friend than a literary
giant: Key West, Florida.

From July 20–23, in honor of the writer’s birthday on July 21, Sloppy Joe’s Bar on Duval Street in Key West holds its annual Hemingway Look-Alike Contest. Key West held a special allure for Hemingway. Its world-class
deep-sea fishing provided an outlet for Hemingway’s masculine bravado. He loved nothing more than to fish in the mornings, write in the afternoons, and head over to Sloppy Joe’s in the evenings.

The original Sloppy Joe’s was not located in Key West but in Havana, Cuba, another one of Hemingway’s favorite places (especially during the Prohibition era).

Havana bar owner Jose “Joe” Garcia was known to leave the floor of his bar “sloppy” with melted ice from seafood and cold drinks. Hemingway and other patrons teasingly referred to his bar as Sloppy Joe’s. Hemingway
often visited the Havana haunt with his friend, bartender Joe Russell. Once Prohibition was lifted in America, Russell opened his own bar in Key West, a bar that would eventually “borrow” the name Sloppy Joe’s and become Hemingway’s favorite watering hole.

So, what better place to remember Hemingway than at his favorite watering hole in his favorite locale? Each year, the Hemingway Look-Alike Society gathers dozens of its best Hemingways to vie for the honor of becoming that year’s beloved “Papa.” And lucky for these Hemingways, they don’t have to box each other or run with the bulls in Pamplona, two of Papa’s favorite pastimes.

Mongolia’s Manly Games
Each year, from July 11–13, Mongolian civilization pauses for Naadam, the festival of the “Three Manly Games.” Horse racing, wrestling, and archery have been  inextricably tied to Mongolian nomadic culture for centuries, since before the reign of Genghis Khan.

In ancient times,  Mongolian kings and generals used these three sports to train their armies. Today, Naadam is a celebration of all things Mongolian. The games themselves provide a fantastic spectacle of competition and national pride, but alongside the sports, visitors find traditional Mongolian food, performances, crafts, poetry, and music.

And while the games might be called “manly,” women often participate in horse racing and archery. Why do women not wrestle? One legend tells of how a woman beat all the men in wrestling.

To prevent further humiliation of men, women were barred from the sport.

Unlucky July
According to folklore, it is unlucky to wed in July. This nuptial inauspiciousness comes from several old rhymes and sayings. One goes: “Marry when June roses blow; Over land and sea you’ll go. Those who in July do wed must labour for their daily bread.” An American saying from the 1930s says that July weddings lead to marriages that “are apt to be crisscrossed with sun and shadow.” One saying even pinpoints weddings held on July 4, warning couples that they “will live a life that is largely homeless.”

Over the centuries, it seems that people have looked for any reason to predict the fate of a marriage. And the superstition about lucky months doesn’t stop at marriage, either. Ancient Romans advised against being born in May. In 15th-century Europe, Christians thought January was unlucky. Of course, these superstitions are largely baseless.