One of Hawaii’s favorite food festivals is just around the corner! The annual Waikiki SPAM JAM Festival presented by Outrigger Resorts will hit the streets of Waikiki for its 16th year as visitors and locals alike gather to celebrate one of the state’s most beloved foods. The event will bring thousands of visitors and Waikiki residents to the bustling Kalakaua Ave. in the heart of Waikiki for delicious culinary creations that feature SPAM brand products, live music and entertainment.

Attendees will sample a selection of creative SPAM dishes from 20 participating local restaurants including Hula Grill, Buho Cantina and Mahaloha Burger, and see first-hand the variety of ways SPAM products can be prepared and enjoyed. From SPAM® Corn Dogs to SPAM® Brand-inspired cocktails, festival goers can expect to be well-fed and entertained as they feed their SPAM® Brand curiosity while getting serenaded by some of the island’s best musical acts from three stages. Additionally, guests can take advantage of street shopping during the festival as they peruse SPAM®-themed merchandise and a variety of unique retail products and crafts made only in Hawaii.

Admission to the family-friendly event is free. Attendees are encouraged to support the event by bringing a non-perishable food item such as a can of SPAM product for donation. Monetary donations collected will benefit the Hawaii Foodbank and other local charities, including the Waikiki Community Center and the Visitor Aloha Society.

Former West Bromwich Albion player, Brendon Batson, will be cycling 75km across the West Midlands to help raise vital funds for Birmingham St Mary’s.

Brendon, who played for the Black Country club from 1978 to 1982, will be taking on the charity’s annual cycling challenge – ‘Ride the Reservoir’.

Taking place on Sunday 18 March, Ride the Reservoir is an exhilarating cycle sportive which starts at Bartley Green before extending into the scenic villages of Romsley, Belbroughton, Chaddesley Corbett, Barnt Green, and then back to the reservoir. All funds raised from the ride will go towards Birmingham St Mary’s, which provides vital care to local families living with terminal illness.

Brendon – who will be joined by hundreds of other keen cyclists – is showing his support for Birmingham St Mary’s after the Hospice cared for his wife Cecily in 2009. He said: “The care Cecily and my family received was just incredible. It was a massive comfort that she was cared for at home and I’ll never forget the kindness and dignity the nurses and doctors showed us.

“Taking on Ride the Reservoir is my way of continuing to say thank you to the Hospice for their amazing support during that time. As a keen cyclist, I’m looking forward to getting back on my bike again and kickstarting the season with this brilliant ride.”

Last year, the cycle sportive attracted more than 350 riders, raising over £16,000 for the Selly Park-based charity.

Lucy Watkins, events manager at Birmingham St Mary’s, said: “It’s fantastic to have Brendon on board for Ride the Reservoir this year. Whilst the route may look pretty, it’s actually really challenging with plenty of ups and downs along the way.

“It will cost £8 million to run our hospice this year, so funds raised from this event will be absolutely vital in ensuring that we can continue to provide our care to even more local families living with terminal illness.”

Ride the Reservoir is approved by British Cycling – the national governing body for cycling in Great Britain – and is supported by local, independent bike shop, Red Kite Cycles. Registration for the ride costs £20 and participants can book, here: https://www.birminghamhospice.org.uk/Event/rtr2018

Last night, Birmingham’s Bullring & Grand Central was taken over by World Champion dancers from the Scanlon School of Irish Dancers, as Grand Central was turned green ahead of St Patrick’s Day.

Tomorrow will see one of the city’s calendar highlights, the annual St Patrick’s Day parade, arrive in Birmingham and tens of thousands of people are expected to hit the streets to celebrate.

To kick-off the weekend of festivities, seven dancers aged 13 to 16 - including 14-year-old four-time World Champion - Alliyah O’Hare, jigged their way through the centre as the Grand Central atrium was turned green to pay homage to St Patrick. They danced their treble reel steps to ‘The Scoddy Reel’.

Bullring also marked the occasion with Birmingham’s iconic bull donning his St Patrick’s Day hat.

The Scanlon dancers will be returning to the centre next Saturday on St Patrick’s Day itself to perform for shoppers by the bull outside Bullring.

Michaela Moore, General Manager of Bullring & Grand Central, said: "It was a pleasure to have such a talented group of young dancers perform in centre to celebrate St Patrick’s Day ahead of tomorrow’s parade. It is such an important day in the calendar for Birmingham and we wanted to mark the occasion with our own celebration at Bullring & Grand Central. We are excited for the group to return next weekend to perform for our visitors.”

Greene King, the country’s leading pub retailer and brewer, today celebrates National Apprenticeship Week 2018 by announcing that it has supported a record 10,000 of its team members through its award-winning Greene King Apprenticeship Programme. The 10,000 milestone accounts for team members who have graduated from the programme, as well as those currently in training, since its launch in 2011.

The Greene King Apprenticeship Programme offers roles for leadership and management, brewing, chefs, bar and front of house staff, and will help team members achieve industry-leading qualifications and build a long-term career in hospitality. Since it began, the scheme has been repeatedly recognised both by the hospitality industry and externally for its dedication to high quality training and development.

To complement the apprenticeship programme’s objective of supporting young people into work, Greene King launched the Get Into Hospitality programme, in partnership with The Prince’s Trust in 2016. The three-week intensive programme addresses the skills and experience gaps that prevent unemployed young people from getting into work through providing work experience and training. So far supporting [160] young people through its Get Into Hospitality certification, those who go on to work for the pub company are then encouraged to enter the Greene King Apprenticeship Programme to further develop their skills and qualifications.

Greene King apprentice Rachael McAtee has done just that. She said: “The Get Into Hospitality Programme really gave me the confidence to explore a career in hospitality, and it was fantastic to be offered a front of house role with Greene King at the end of it. I settled into that role quickly and it didn’t take long before I was recommended to apply for the Greene King Apprenticeship programme. I’ve not only achieved a Level 2 F&B services, an industry recognised qualification, but I’m working my way up the ranks and exploring further development opportunities available to me. For those wondering what a career in the hospitality industry would be like, I encourage them to take the leap. It’s definitely worth it!”

Rooney Anand, chief executive at Greene King, said: “We have invested in our apprenticeship programme for seven years now and it’s great that we’ve been able to support 10,000 of our team members during that time. But it won’t stop there as we recognise it’s more important than ever that we continue to bring young people into the hospitality industry and show that it can provide a stable, exciting and rewarding career. Our apprenticeship programme and partnership with The Prince’s Trust are leading the way and we look forward to welcoming others to develop their skills and build a career with us.”

The Eden Project is launching a new three-week programme of activities for Easter including a giant inflatable challenge, spring maze and golden egg hunt (March 24 to April 15).

There will be a range of outdoor games for the whole family to have a crack at and lots of Easter prizes and treats to enjoy.

How Does Your Garden Grow? is a plant-themed obstacle course in the Stage area where teams have to scramble up all the elements needed to grow a plant.

Participants can slide down giant inflatable slides and rummage through a pond ball pit which sits behind oversized flowers and grass and an enormous greenhouse. They will be looking to find the vital ingredients - soil, seed, rain and sunshine.

There is a chance to explore the whole of the Eden site as the popular Golden Egg Hunt returns.

Elusive eggs will be hidden inside and outside the Biomes in different locations daily and the best egg-hunters will be rewarded with delicious chocolate prizes.

In the Arena there is a chance to get lost in a specially-built spring maze made of hundreds of hay bales.

Visitors can enjoy the first signs of spring on the discovery trail. Among the best plants to see at Eden will be colourful tulips, beautiful jade vine and gorgeous geraniums.

Younger children can enjoy an under-fives soft play area in the Stage, a hoopla game or guess-who activity with animal faces in the Orchard.

There are also board games and a bee buzz challenge where a steady hand is needed to guide the bee on its pollination journey.

In the Mediterranean Biome there will be another chance to see the fun family show Operation Earth exploring Earth's amazing science and stories in partnership with the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC).

During the interactive performance the audience will be invited to become trainee environmental scientists when 'Earthy' – a mini version of the planet earth – takes a trip to the doctors.

Shannon Wilby, programme lead for Easter at Eden, said: “We're really excited to be running a three week-long Easter programme for the first time at Eden with loads of new activities which will be cracking fun for all the family.”

All Easter activities are suitable for all ages and included with admission to Eden. Booking is not required.

Sandwell Valley Country Park has welcomed the arrival of two calves.

The Traditional Hereford calves were born at Forge Mill Farm during the peak of Storm Emma.

Inspired by the snow storm, staff chose the names Stormzy for the male calf and Emma for the female calf.

Farm manager Melissa Underwood-Grattage said "We are delighted with our new arrivals to the farm. Despite the cold, they are both doing very well.

"Maybe we will get a visit from the rapper Stormzy to see his namesake."

The Hereford calves are among a number of new arrivals to both Sandwell Park Farm and Forge Mill Farm over the last few days. Rare breed Bagot goat twins were born on Saturday 3 March as well as a Jersey cow calf.

Visitors can come to Sandwell Park Farm or Forge Mill Farm to visit the new arrivals as well as lots of other farmyard animals. Details for visitors are on their website: www.sandwell.gov.uk/sandwellvalley.