Sun Valley's Idol: Ernest Hemingway
The Sun Valley Ketchum Chamber & Visitors Bureau has teamed together with many area enthusiasts and organizations to celebrate the life of world-renowned writer Ernest Hemingway by creating an annual Sun Valley area Hemingway event. One of the main goals of the event is to honor the heritage of
Hemingway’s strong bond to the Wood River Valley and Idaho.
We look forward to seeing you at the festival!
About Ernest Hemingway in Idaho
Ernest Hemingway’s first trip to the Sun Valley area was in 1939. He was one of the many celebrities invited to the new Sun Valley Resort in hopes that fame and publicity would lure tourists. Ernest was given suite #206 of the Sun Valley Lodge, which he nicknamed "Glamour House," a room to which he would return many times. In this suite he worked on For Whom the Bells Tolls. He made many trips to Idaho before establishing residence in the Wood River Valley with his fourth wife Mary Welsh Hemingway in 1959.
In his Ketchum home Ernest Hemingway worked on A Moveable Feast and The Garden of Eden while standing at a desk with a view of the Boulder Mountains. After writing in the mornings Hemingway enjoyed duck hunting, often with actor Gary Cooper, on Silver Creek, 25 miles south of Ketchum. In the evenings Hemingway could be found socializing with friends at one of his favorite French restaurants, the Christiania, where he often requested a small table on the southwest side of the dining room. He also spent time at other businesses still in operation today such as The Casino, a local tavern; and at star-studded parties that once took place at Trail Creek Cabin, now owned by Sun Valley Resort.
Decades after Papa Hemingway’s duck hunting days on Silver Creek, his son Jack helped to protect and preserve this natural wildlife refuge. The original 479 acres and two miles of stream that make up the pristine reservation were sold to the non-profit land-conservation organization, The Nature Conservancy. Today, the Silver Creek Preserve now stands at 8,700 acres and 25 miles of stream, including conservation easements from surrounding neighbors. In addition to the preserve, the Nature Conservancy has managed Hemingway’s home in Ketchum since 1981 in accordance to Mary Hemingway’s last wishes.
In 1961, Hemingway ended his life in his Ketchum home. He is buried next to Mary in the Ketchum cemetery. Today, many visitors from all over the world come to Sun Valley to see the beautiful Wood River Valley, which inspired one of the world’s foremost writers. In the Sun Valley Lodge’s hallways pictures of the Hemingway family in Sun Valley and the last letter he wrote before he died are displayed.
In his honor, a memorial with a bronze bust of Ernest Hemingway overlooks Trail Creek for friends, family, and admirers to enjoy. The bust was sculpted by Robert Berks. The memorial was dedicated on July 21, 1966, which would have been Hemingway’s 67th birthday. The plaque reads:
Best of all he loved the fall
the leaves yellow on cottonwoods
leaves floating on trout streams
and above the hills
the high blue windless skies
…Now he will be a part of them forever.
It was written by Hemingway as a eulogy for a friend, Gene Van Guilder, who was killed in a hunting accident in 1939.
More information on Hemingway is available at the Ketchum/Sun Valley Ski and Heritage Museum (208) 726-8118, as well as at the Ketchum Community Library’s Regional History Department (208) 726-3493.
Schedule of Events
** All events are held at the NexStage Theatre in Ketchum, unless otherwise noted.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
5:00 PM -- Reception for sponsors/donors/speakers at the nexStage Theatre sponsored by Zions Bank
7:00 PM -- Opening Reception/Welcome, "Hemingway in Cuba" documentary film by Hilary Hemingway & Jeff Lindsay. Q&A to follow.
Friday, September 26, 2008
9:00 AM -10:30AM -- Martin Peterson, will give a talk entitled "Hemingway and the Cuba-Idaho Connection".
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM -- Hemingway Festival Book Fair.
10:45 AM - 12:00 PM -- Dr. Susan Beegel, scholar and editor of the award-winning "The Hemingway Review" will speak on "Hemingway's Cuban Masterpiece: The Old Man and the Sea".
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM -- Hemingway Hangouts guided tour (leaves from the Sun Valley/Ketchum Ski & Heritage Museum)
3:00PM - 4:00 PM -- University of Idaho student readings, the Community Library (FREE/open to the public)
7:30 PM - 10:00 PM -- “Evening in Cuba" includes entertainment, salsa music and dancing, Cuban food and drinks.*
Saturday, September 27, 2008
10:00 AM - 2:00 PM -- Hemingway Festival Book Fair.
9:00-10:30AM -- Talk/Panel TBD
10:45 AM - 11:45 AM -- Dr. Sandra Spanier will present the "Preservation of the Hemingway papers in Cuba."
1:00 AM -2:30 PM -- Hemingway Hangouts guided tour (leaves from the Sun Valley/Ketchum Ski & Heritage Museum)
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM -- Reading and book signing by Brandon Schrand of University of Idaho's Creative Writing program.
7:00 PM -- Reading by, 2008 Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award winner, the Community Library (FREE/open to the public)
7:00 PM -- Elegant dinner at Ernest Hemingway's home presented by the Nature Conservancy of Idaho.*
9:00 PM -- Open mic night of readings, Iconoclast Books, Ketchum. (FREE/open to the public)
Sunday, September 28, 2008
1:00 PM - 2:30 PM -- Hemingway Hangouts guided tour (leaves from the Sun Valley/Ketchum Ski & Heritage Museum)
There will be a registration fee of $35 per person, which includes general admission into all talks/lectures, guided tours and film. The keynote address will also have a separate event ticket price of $15 so those that wish to only attend the keynote have the option without having to register for the entire weekend event. The Evening in Cuba is not included in the festival badge. Tickets for this event will be $35. If you have a festival badge there will $5 off the ticket price. Students 18 years of age or younger will be able to attend for free.
|
