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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. The third annual Ernest Hemingway Festival will be held September 18 – September 21, 2008. 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.
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 took place at Trail Creek Cabin.
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 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.
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Premier Resorts Sun Valley is offering a discounted lodging package which includes 3 nights lodging in a studio condominium at the Sun Valley Resort Village for just $142* per person. Accommodations include a queen size bed, kitchenette and access to the outdoor heated pools, sauna, and hot tub. Sun Valley condominiums are within walking distance to several shops, restaurants, entertainment and the world famous year-round skating rink. For more information, call 800-635-4444.
*Package price based on double occupancy, does not include tax or resort fee. Subject to availability. Restrictions apply.
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