Spamarama A Hilarious Look Back at Austin’s Weirdest Food Festival

Austin, Texas is known for some wild parties and festivals, SPAMARAMA may have been one of the weirdest.

Remembering Spamarama Austin's Unique Celebration of Spam

During my time in Austin, Texas I was exposed to several weird Austin Events. I remember judging an O. Henry Pun Off, promoting Eeyore's Birthday Party, and being a celebrity taster/judge for SPAMARAMA. There was also a very adult festival that involved taking generators into the woods and watching "adult" movies, but we better skip that one.

The Man, The Plan, The SPAM In Texas

My morning show at the time, The Breakfast Flakes, made a few fast friends among the talented and creative in Austin. Some even broke into Hollywood, including some voice actors for King Of The Hill. We also met the legendary David Arnsberger. You may not know that name, but he was a big mischief maker, band leader (The Uranium Savages), and event planner from hell.
Read More: Celebrate Eeyore's 60th: A Guide To Austin’s Quirky Event

The Legacy of Spamarama A Look at Austin's Quirky Past

David and a friend were responsible for creating SPAMARAMA. It was really just a joke about there being too many other cookoffs and that if somebody could make SPAM taste good, they should get an award. The event featured serious  and silly creations, like SPAM Puffs prepared by a professional chef, and also SPAMpers, which was a SPAM dip that was served on a diaper.

SPAMARAMA More Than Just Spam A Look Back at Austin's Eccentricity

There was a lot more SPAM mayhem too. SPAM carving, SPAM Facials and Spam Olympics were just part of the mayhem. There was also the SPAM toss which requited competitors to throw a can of SPAM back and forth and continually move away from each other until someone dropped it. Sadly, SPAMARAMA had it's last event in 2022 but if all of this has you excited about SPAM, you can still pick up David's SPAMARAMA cookbook on Amazon.