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On April 1, a torch left New York City headed for Austin with a can of SPAM sitting atop it where the fire should have been. When a girl ran with the torch through the gates of Waterloo Park on Saturday, it began the 26th year of a festival inspired by the meat product that fed England during World War II.
SPAMARAMA drew thousands - an estimated 8,000 to 9,000 people - to the park for music, food, rides and the SPAMALYMPICS.
"SPAMARAMA has gone through a lot of changes, and this year is no different," said Norman Kieke, the executive director of Disability Assistance of Central Texas, SPAMARAMA's main sponsor. "It grew out of a small neighborhood function and gets better every year. We are always very excited."
The SPAM-related festival started out small as an alternative event to April Fools' Day barbecues at the original Soap Creek Saloon. It has since moved to Waterloo Park and picked up the support of Kieke's organization, which receives 50 percent of the proceeds and uses them to provide employment support, technology training and general assistance to disabled Central Texans.
Local rock band Uranium Savages opened the festival and the second event, a SPAM toss, began the SPAMALYMPICS. The youngest competitor, 11-year-old Alex Hager, opened the SPAM calling contest, which is just like hog calling but with the word "SPAM." His unique call, a series of armpit noises followed by a call of "Here SPAM, here SPAM!" took the gold medal.
Returning to defend their title in the SPAM toss were Mark and Cody Mikeska, a father-son team with four previous SPAM tosses under its belt. SPAM tossers throw a chunk of SPAM to each other at increasing distances until someone drops it. After three rounds of flying SPAM, which sometimes christened spectators with SPAM juice, the defending champions were pitted against two other teams. The Mikeskas won the 2004 championship.
"The key is getting enough elevation under the SPAM," Mark Mikeska said after their victory.
Many groups occupied tents, including 10-year SPAMARAMA veterans the Squealage People. The men dressed up as the Village People with pig-like modifications. Nathan Hinds, who drove from San Marcos for the festival, said he was particularly proud of their accomplishments this year.
"Today we have a concoction called 'Queer Pork on a Straight Fork'," Hinds said. "We have won the 'Worst Taste' award eight of the last nine years, and we're darned proud of that."
After sampling the creations of various culinary artists, spectators saw the most heated and controversial Spamarama event - the Collegiate Spam Relay. The race pitted UT students against contestants from Texas A&M University in a relay. It started out dead even, but by the final Spam handoff, the Aggies had gained a slight lead.
UT's Randy Gonzalez, a 23-year-old chemical engineering senior, narrowed the lead but lost control of the Spam in the last few seconds. Victory went to Texas A&M, inciting booing and calls for a rematch from the crowd.
After a short break, people began surging forward, pushing and leaning to get as close to the stage as possible for the final event. For years, the Spam-eating contest was known as the Spam cram. This year, the International Federation of Competitive Eating sponsored the event, bringing with it Rich and Carlene LeFevre, two of the world's most renowned eaters. The couple whizzed through Spam burgers, and Carlene performed her trademark "Carlene bounce," jumping up and down to settle food in her stomach. After the final bell, Rich came out on top, having eaten just more than six 12-ounce Spam burgers. Carlene won second place with just under five.
When asked about the level of competition, Rich LeFevre said, "I was only worried about Carlene."
With the conclusion of the Spamalympics came the awards presentation for the cook-off winners. The Squealage People successfully defended their Worst Taste title with "Queer Pork on a Straight Fork," and the Lone Star Cafe-sponsored Spalamo team won the Best in Show prize for its Alamo-shaped Spam appetizers.
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