AUSTIN, Texas — For the first time in eight years, 'Spamarama' will be back this summer.
The iconic Austin food festival celebrating Spam will return in July.
“It was obvious in the first year that there was something to it,” co-founder David Arnsberger said.
Arnsberger said the festival started as a joke back in 1978, pointing to the many chili cook-offs in the area at the time.
“Anybody can cook chili. If you can make Spam edible, that would be an accomplishment,” Arnsberger said.
He launched the festival on Saturday, April 1, 1978 at Soap Creek Saloon off Bee Cave Road.
The saloon closed a few years later, but the festival continued.
The event started as a cooking competition and quickly grew into games dubbed the “Spamolympics” with a spam toss, tug-of-war and other field games with Spam.
“It went away because I went away,” Arnsberger said.
Arnsberger moved to Colorado for a few years and tried running the event remotely. But, he eventually sold it and lost any control over the festival.
It ended in 2011.
“I’ve been here since the '60s or '70s. I always thought Austin was weird back then,” Tom Davis, owner of Green Mesquite BBQ off Barton Springs Road, said.
Davis participated in the competition, showcasing “Spamritas” – margaritas mixed with Spam – and “Spam Sausage.”
Davis said Austin has lost some of its weirdness and reviving Spamarama brings a little of the weird back.
“A lot of it, actually, [is] because of the population. Culture is culture. When people move, they bring their culture with them. It changes things,” Davis said. “If a little bit of Austin can be saved, great.”
Arnsberger agreed.
“People move here and say, ‘Austin is such a great place.’ They have no idea. No idea what a great place it was. This is a little bit of it that, I’m capable of bringing it back to show everybody this is what it used to be like,” Arnsberger said.
Spamarama will be held July 6 at Moontower Saloon at 10212 Manchaca Road.
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