The SPAM Jam festival in Waikiki beach is an annual block party dedicated to the canned Hormel company born gelatinous meat byproduct heralded across the Hawaiian Islands as a dietary staple. Without going into the history of SPAM’s significance to the culture we’ll simply give you a run down of SPAM Jam.

SPAM Jam, from a vacationing spectator point of view, is about the same as any of the festivals and events that cause Waikiki’s Kalakaua Avenue to shut down. The street is packed with vendors, artisans, performers, concert stages, and of course food stands. In this instance the food stands are dedicated to SPAM (obviously).

Local Waikiki chefs and eateries come out in full force during the festival to sling their custom take on SPAM. From Eggs’n’Things to Duke’s Restaurant the familiar trusted faces are out to ease any trepidation that those new to SPAM cuisine may have in sampling this famous/infamous canned substance. While pretty much every food stand serving on Kalakaua delivers a wonderfully flavorful twist we suggest taking a chance on items like the Hawaiian Cheesecake (NY Cheesecake topped with maple syrup and SPAM) from Hawaiian Cheesecakes or a SPAM-burger from Cheeseburger in Paradise – you can’t go wrong with either. Before the event closes for another year be sure to grab a souvenir SPAM Jam t-shirt and some SPAM flavored Macadamia nuts to take back to the Mainland, both of which are surefire conversation starters.

Visit spamjamhawaii.com for the next event date.