Sculptors carve artwork out of Spam
Beth Ellison of Bigfork concentrates as she carves a "Spamurai," at the Eighth Annual Spam-O-Rama at the Garden Bar and Grill. "You haven't lived till you've carved spam," jokes Ellison.
A Bigfork bartender found an unlikely cure for winter blues in a famous blue can.
Spam-O-Rama, an irreverent homage to the canned meat, celebrated its eighth year at Bigfork’s Garden Bar on Saturday afternoon.
“I love Spam. It’s a beautiful meat product,” said Mark “Mister” Langlois, the bar’s owner and a lifelong devotee to the mystery meat.
Spam-O-Rama entrants competed for prizes in carving and cooking categories.
About fifty carvers and spectators packed the bar, crowding around a pool table where the meaty carvings shone beneath a Budweiser light.
Carvers depicted everything from a “Spamurai” soldier holding a tiny sword to a “Knuckle Spamwich” with a Spam fist between two slices of bread to a lighted “Spam O’Lantern.”
First prize went to the “Spitter.”
“I thought it would leak out, but it’s holding,” onlooker and Spam O’Lantern creator Chris Arndt said of the toilet brimming with Long Island iced tea.
A miniature roll of toilet paper and a magazine stack topped the creation and a raw piece of Spam floated in the bowl.
Cooked Spam sank to the bottom, according to creator Shana Smith, 28, an art major at Flathead Valley Community College. The Bigfork resident used an X-Acto knife and clay tools to carve the meat chunk into a replica of the Garden Bar bathroom in about 40 minutes. It was her second Spam-O-Rama first-place win.
Carvers had between 2 and 4 p.m. Saturday to carve two cans of Spam into whatever their hearts desired to compete for prizes, including a Landshark lawn chair, cooler on wheels and lifejacket donated by Flathead Beverage Co.
“Spamaba Chia,” created by Dolli Righetti of Bigfork,
took second. Microgreens covering the Chia’s detailed head were donated by the culinary design studio.
Third prize went to Bigfork resident Sarah Rebuck’s “Spish Tank.”
When her sculpture won fourth place, Shari Baltrusch of Creston spread her arms and bounced, emulating the tiny “Spurfer” she carved riding a Spam wave. She said her lifejacket prize seemed fitting.
Anyone not participating in the contest could help judge, Langlois said. The four judges unaminously ranked the entries in the same order as the crowd.
A judge who identified himself only as Christopher said he and his wife, Laura, chose the “Spitter” for its detail and artistic style. He also alluded to its appropriateness.
“If you eat Spam, that’s where you’re going to wind up,” he said with a laugh.
The carving contest attracted 15 entries.
The cooking contest had only two entries. The $20 prize was split evenly between “Spisses,” chocolate-covered Spam chunks, and pineapple/Spam upside-down cake. The contest’s only rule was that chefs use Spam as an ingredient.
Langlois was inspired to bring a Spam-O-Rama to Bigfork after he heard of similar Spam celebrations across the country.
“I thought it would be a good thing to do in the middle of February,” he said. “What else are you going to do up here in the dead of winter?”
Reporter Melissa Weaver may be reached at 758-4441 or by e-mail at mweaver@dailyinterlake.com