The 9th Annual Waikiki Spam Jam Festival was held on Saturday, April 30th. While I had heard about this event before, I never knew much about it until I came across the pictures from it on the
Honolulu Star Advertiser Pulse Blog "Food La La" and read more about it.
From the
Spam Jam website:
The WAIKIKI SPAM JAM®Festival is a street festival that celebrates the people of Hawaii's love for SPAM®products a canned meat from Hormel Foods. In Hawaii, you will find SPAM®family of products at all grocery and convenience stores, many restaurants and in most homes in Hawaii.
This street festival is great for all ages, as the event includes Hawaii's top restaurants, two stages with free entertainment,and a variety of Hawaiian crafters. This is also a special event that benefits the Hawaii Food Bank, the largest non-profit in Hawaii that feeds the needy.
I always thought it was just a festival of of spam, but I didn't know it was also a fundraiser for the Hawai'i Food Bank.
Many people on the mainland find spam detestable and can't wrap their mind around Hawai'i's love of the luncheon meat. I am not exactly sure about the origin of spam in Hawai'i and how it became so popular - but it has been a part of our culture for about as long as anyone today can remember.
Some say that spam came to the islands during WWII, when supplies such as meat became scarce in the islands;
others say that it proliferated during the days of plantation workers, who couldn't always get high quality meat.
Regardless of how it came to Hawai'i, spam can be found everywhere in the islands - McDonald's, 7-Eleven, supermarkets, restaurants, plate lunch places, etc. Many parents make spam musubi for their children's home lunches on field trips and for potlucks.
Anyway, just a little on an event very unique to our state and a bit about our spam "obsession."
Some pictures from
Food La La:
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| Spam Chili and Rice by Jimmy Buffett's |
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| Spam Volcano Nachos by Jimmy Buffett's |
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| Spam Fried Rice with Spam Katsu by Duke's and Hula Grill |
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| Spam Okonomiyaki by Chibo |
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| Philly Cheesesteak Spamwich by Gordon Biersch |
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| Asian Spam Crunch Salad by Gordon Biersch |
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| Spam Lo Mein by PF Chang's |
I love spam! At every family gathering, there is always a platter of spam musubis. (I'm pretty sure you had these before since you're from Hawaii.) But spam always gets a bad reputation; people just don't give it a chance or cook it properly. I remember my dad would make me spam, eggs, portuguese sausage and rice for breakfast when I was a kid. That actually sounds delicious and going to make my dad make that for me! Thanks for appreciating spam like I do!
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