Spam it up!

Michelle Whitton/General Manager Hula Grill Waikiki, Barbara/VP Retail/Outrigger Hospitality Group, Toby Tamaye/President AT Marketing

It’s that time of the year when tens of thousands of people descend on Waikīkī to celebrate a certain luncheon meat that first gained favor during the Second World War, both for its availability and affordability.

So just what is this globally recognizable and still enjoyable food staple? Spam, of course.

The canned meat product takes the spotlight once again at the annual Waikīkī Spam Jam Festival, the longest-running street event in the islands. In its 21st year, the 2025 affair is just around the corner (April 26) and will, as usual, occupy five city blocks along Kalākaua Avenue — certainly plenty of space for the expected 50,000 attendees to roam freely while consuming the finest and most creative Spam dishes in the world.

Among the mouthwatering offerings from the nearly 30 food and beverage vendors on hand will be Spam katsu sliders, Spam-stuffed dumplings, Spam fried rice, Spam nachos, Spam dim sum and, yes, the ever-popular Spam musubi.

In addition, guests can count on a bevy of attention-grabbing dessert concoctions featuring the versatile lunch meat — including Spam Ice Cream.

“Until I tried it, I thought Spam Ice Cream was pretty weird,” confesses event co-founder Barbara Campbell. “But you know, the sweet and salty really goes well together. I was pleasantly surprised.”

The signature food festival has been a hit in the islands since shortly after the turn of the century, probably because locals can’t ever seem to get enough of Spam. As a matter of fact, about 7 million cans of the Hormel Foods product are consumed each year in Hawai‘i — by far the most of any state in the country.

For Campbell, the Waikīkī event — which will also feature musical and hula performances as well as retail booths, keiki activities and appearances by SPAMMY characters — remains the perfect venue to bring kama‘aina and tourists together for a lively and memorable occasion.

“We’ll have every kind of creative Spam dish you can think of along with live music and entertainment,” she says of the upcoming festival. “It’s going to be carefree, and there will be a lot of giggles and laughs.

“It’s just simply about having fun.”

While many still view Spam Jam as a one-night-only block party, it’s actually much more than that.

Bracketing this year’s festival once more will be Dine In with Spam, or what many simply refer to as Restaurant Week. In reality, Restaurant Week runs for two weeks (April 19-May 4) and consists of participating eateries inviting patrons inside to share in their elevated Spam creations. This can-to-table concept was first instituted during the pandemic when the annual block party was suspended, and has continued because of its increasing popularity, particularly with tourists.

“We actually bookend the festival during Restaurant Week, and this gives visitors more opportunities to go into these restaurants, have unique Spam dishes and try out these kinds of things,” explains event marketing director Toby Tamaye. “This way, they don’t just have one night to eat Spam.”

Supporting Waikīkī businesses remains the goal of Restaurant Week, adds Tamaye, and one of these eateries is Hula Grill Waikīkī, which has been a proud supporter of the festival since the get-go.

General manager Michelle Whitton notes that Hula Grill’s contributions for this year’s festival include Kalua Pork Spam Nachos and Truffle Spam Saimin. She’s also looking forward to seeing both new and familiar faces when Hula Grill sets up its booth in front of the Outrigger Waikīkī Beach Resort for the April 26 affair.

“The best part of the festival is just being part of the community,” Whitton says. “It’s great having people come down to Waikīkī from all over the island to hang out and have a good time. The food is really good, and there’s just a lot of fun with great entertainment and music.

“So it’s a good community experience for everybody.”

While the festival promises to satisfy the cravings of thousands of foodies, music fans and big-event lovers, it also pledges to once more assist several notable organizations — Hawai’i Foodbank, Visitor Aloha Society of Hawai‘i and Waikīkī Community Center — through charitable contributions. Last year, the festival raised nearly $50,000 for these groups.

“At the core of this event is giving back to nonprofits,” explains Campbell, who serves as vice president of retail leasing and property management for Outrigger Hospitality Group — one of the event’s sponsors. “Raising funds for these charities really aligns well with our core values at Outrigger in caring for our communities.”

That affection for people is also at the heart of the festival’s beginnings. As Campbell recalls, it was back in the early 2000s when one of the Kelley family members (Roy and Estelle Kelley founded the hotel management company in the late 1940s and pioneered the concept of family-style hotel rooms in Waikīkī) burst into her office with a revelation.

“She came running into my office during Housekeeping Week, which is when we would cook breakfast for all of our housekeepers in the hotels, and she’s like, ‘Oh, my God! The thought just occurred to me: We should do a festival and celebrate Spam because it’s such a big part of our culture, right?’” Campbell remembers. “And I said, ‘You know what? I love the idea!’

“We had done some lower-street festivals as well as full-street festivals before, but I just thought how fun of an idea a Spam festival would be,” she continues. “It was quirky enough that I thought it would be a hit. And Hawai‘i folks kind of feel like Spam is their thing anyway because it’s such a big part of the culture. So yes, we thought that this could turn into a really great food festival.”

Now more than two decades later, Waikīkī Spam Jam Festival shows no signs of slowing down.

“It’s just grown in popularity,” says Campbell, noting that Hormel, the maker of Spam, continues to be very supportive of the event. “Locals love it, and so do visitors. In fact, we still get inquiries all year long from people around the world saying they want to come and plan their vacation around Spam Jam.”