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Come celebrate the world’s largest SPAM event (the mysterious luncheon meat, not the contents of your email box) in Hawaii this April, with free room upgrades, low-cost packages, and pink meat galore! Pack your Mylanta and have a ball. By Matthew Link
Updated: 6:39 p.m. ET April 06, 2004SPAM. Just the word is enough to make some people nauseous. But in Hawaii, it’s one of the islands’ celebrated delicacies, and is proudly found in a number of local dishes. In fact, Hawaii is the number one consumer of the enigmatic canned meat in the U.S. Introduced in 1937 by Hormel Foods, more SPAM is consumed per capita in Hawaii than any other state in the U.S. More than 6.9 million cans of SPAM are consumed in Hawaii each year, making the Aloha State the unofficial SPAM capital of the U.S.
And now it’s your turn to dive head in! The second annual SPAM Jam returns to Waikiki on April 23 and 24. And the travel deals are as delicious as the soft, salty food product itself.
On Friday, April 23 from noon to 1 p.m., visitors in Waikiki will be invited to the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center to assist with the making, unveiling and, yes, eating of the world’s longest SPAM musubi to kickoff the second annual Waikiki SPAM Jam street festival. (Musubi is a bizarre yet tasty island treat made up of sticky rice, seaweed, and SPAM formed into a snack cake.) Organizers hope to break the record of 300 feet, which will take nearly 800 cups of rice, over 1,300 slices of SPAM, and almost 600 feet of nori (seaweed wrap). More than 1,200 individual servings of musubi are expected to come from the giant snack, all of which will be served free to those attending. An official application has been requested from the Guinness Book of Records to document and record this most historic occasion. And what would be a SPAM event without SPAMMY, the six-foot tall official SPAM mascot? Chase him down — he’ll be distributing free SPAM merchandise while supplies last.
Between tender mouthfuls, the public can try to guess the number of cans in the giant Wall of Spam nearby for a variety of exciting prizes. At 6 p.m, All Star Hawaii (at 2080 Kalakaua Blvd), will host a Spam Jam concert and comedy revue. Admission is free with a can of SPAM, which will be donated to the Hawaii Food Bank.
On Saturday, Apr 24, from 4 p.m. to 10 p.m., the Waikiki SPAM Jam will fill Kalakaua Avenue in the heart of Waikiki with one of the largest street festivals in Hawaii. The islands’ most talented chefs will staff food booths serving unique SPAM menu items. Throughout the night, revelers will enjoy live entertainment on two stages, craft tents, and various hula performances all in honor of, you guessed it, the meat in the can. Don’t laugh! Last year, 30,000 people showed up for this grand two-day event.
And you can even win a trip back to the Mainland! SPAM lovers can enter to win a trip for two from Hawaii to Austin, Minnesota, home to the 16,000 square foot SPAM Museum, compliments of Hormel Foods and Times Supermarkets. Twelve two-night hotel stays in Waikiki will also be awarded. The promotion runs January 28 through April 20, 2004. During that time, visit any Times Supermarket on Oahu and complete an entry form, or simply present your Times "Royal" card at check out and your name will be entered automatically with each purchase of a can of SPAM.
Show a can, get an upgrade
And if SPAMMY slipped you a can at the festivities, plop it down on the desk of participating Waikiki hotels that are offering a SPAM Jam room upgrade free (subject to availability). Between Apr 18 to Apr 25, more than 20 Waikiki Hotels will be offering the SPAM Jam room upgrade, with Kama’aina rates starting at $59 per night (you have to have a Hawaii driver’s license for that rate), but most of these hotels have rooms starting at $100 for tourists anyway. You can get this upgrade with Aston Resort Quest Hawaii, Ohana Islander Waikiki, Ohana Waikiki Tower, Doubletree Alana Hotel, Ohana Maile Sky Court, Ohana Waikiki Village, Ilima Hotel, Ohana Reef Lanai, Ohana Waikiki West, Marriott Waikiki Beach Resort, Ohana Reef Towers, Waikiki Beachcomber, Outrigger Reef on the Beach, Ohana Royal Islander, Sheraton Moana, Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach, Ohana Waikiki Surf, Ohana East, and Ohana Waikiki Surf East. Don’t worry — the SPAM is not for the staff! All canned SPAM products and non-perishable food items will be donated to the Hawaii Food Bank.
Would you like flights with that SPAM room upgrade? If you book by Apr 21, SunTrips (800/786-8747,
www.suntrips.com) is offering four nights in Waikiki with airfare from the Mainland and a rental car, staying at a choice of two-star hotels all within walking distance to the famous beach and including ones participating in the SPAM room upgrade program. Travel is good from April 22 to May 21 — the only catch is, the flights only leave from Oakland, CA and Denver.
Or if you want to plan further out, SunTrips has some Memorial Day two-night packages (May 28–30) starting at $459, with rental car and airfare from Oakland, CA (sorry, the only gateway for this special). Or expand it to three nights (May 27–30) for $529, four nights (May 28–Jun 1) for $569, and five nights (May 25–30) for $629. You’ll be staying at the snazzy Sheraton Princess Kaiulani, right on Waikiki Beach. If you already have a place to stay, the airfare price for the weekend is just $349 per person roundtrip.
Not to be outdone, SunTrip’s nemesis Pleasant Holidays (800/448-3333,
www.pleasantholidays.com) is offering a four-night Waikiki stay for $533 (about $151 off). This deal (good for travel in all of 2004, but book by July 20) is at the upscale Waikiki Parc Hotel — a sister hotel of the famed Halekulani — and just steps from Waikiki Beach. Peacefully tucked away from all the hustle and bustle, it features comfortably appointed guestrooms with views of the ocean, mountains, or city. This deal is land-only, but unlike SunTrips, Pleasant can quote you reasonable airfare from a number of U.S. cities, and the price includes fresh flower lei greeting, roundtrip hotel/airport transfers in Waikiki, and hotel taxes.
So what are you waiting for? SPAMMY and his festival aren’t going to stick around forever, even though SPAM itself most certainly will …
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