WHY DOES MOBILE THROW MOON PIES AT MARDI GRAS?

Updated May 2026

New York and Chicago drop a ball. Atlanta gets a little more creative and lowers a peach. But on New Year’s Eve in Mobile, look up, 34 stories up, to the top of the RSA Trustmark Building, and you’ll see something all our own slowly descending toward midnight. Your eyes aren’t fooling you. That really is a giant Moon Pie, a calm yellow quarter-moon with a faint, almost Mona Lisa smile, riding down the side of the building as the city counts down the year.

Visitors always ask the same questions. Were Moon Pies invented in Mobile? Are they made here? Is the company headquartered here? The answer to all three is no. The real story is better than any of those, and it starts in a coal mine.

A Snack as Big as the Moon

In 1917, a traveling salesman from Chattanooga asked a Kentucky coal miner what his ideal snack would be. As the story goes (history mixed with a little legend), the miner said he wanted something with marshmallow and chocolate, and he wanted it “as big as the moon.” It needed to fit in a lunch pail and fill a working man’s stomach through a long, hard day underground.

The Chattanooga Bakery took the idea and ran with it: a marshmallow filling sandwiched between two graham crackers, dipped in chocolate. Portable, filling, and cheap at five cents. The Moon Pie was born. By the Great Depression, it had been paired with an RC Cola to become the South’s most iconic working-man’s lunch, and during World War II it became a taste of home for American soldiers. Banana and vanilla flavors followed the original chocolate, and the Moon Pie’s place in Southern life was secure.

The Cracker Jack Problem

Meanwhile, Mobile, the home of America’s original Mardi Gras, had a problem on its parade routes. Masked riders on floats tossed treats to the crowds, and for years the most popular throw was Cracker Jack. Delicious, sure, but those stiff cardboard boxes had sharp corners, and they were a genuine hazard. They hurt people, and they didn’t fly well either.

In 1971, after too many men, women, and children were getting injured by flying boxes, the City of Mobile banned Cracker Jack from being thrown during parades. That ban created a vacuum, and Mobile needed a new signature throw.

The Perfect Throw

Accounts vary on exactly which mystic society threw the first Moon Pie and in what year, but the pieces all fit. Moon Pies started flying from Mobile floats in earnest, and it’s easy to see why they won. They’re soft, so they don’t hurt when they land. They’re shaped like a frisbee, so they sail beautifully through the air. They’re cheap enough to buy by the case. And everybody in the South already loves them. It was, quite simply, the perfect throw.

Today, more than nine hundred Moon Pies are thrown from the floats of a single Mobile parade, and across one full Carnival season, the city throws over four million of them. Mobile is so closely tied to the Moon Pie that the Chattanooga Bakery often uses the city as a test market for new flavors, so you’ll spot coconut, orange, strawberry, and salted caramel here that are hard to find anywhere else. And there’s a local rule worth knowing: the first Moon Pie you catch in midair has to be eaten right there on the spot, for good luck.

One ironic footnote. These days, some revelers throw entire boxes of Moon Pies, sharp corners and all, the very thing that got Cracker Jack banned in the first place. So as any Mobilian will tell you: at a Mardi Gras parade, always keep your head up.

The Moon Pie Drop

Mobile’s love of the Moon Pie reaches its peak every New Year’s Eve. Since 2008, the city has rung in the new year by dropping the World’s Largest Electronic Moon Pie, a 600-pound, 12-foot-tall lighted Moon Pie that descends 317 feet down the RSA Trustmark Building in one minute. The tradition was the idea of City Councilman Fred Richardson, who pitched it as a way to draw locals and tourists downtown and boost the area’s hotels, restaurants, and businesses. It worked, and the drop is now one of Mobile’s signature events.

If you’re downtown on New Year’s Eve, stick around for the cutting of an enormous edible Moon Pie, a free, sweet treat shared with the crowd to kick off the celebration. The giant “pie in the sky” also drops before each parade during Carnival season.

Catch Moon Pies Like a Local

There’s no experience quite like standing on a downtown Mobile street during Carnival, hands up, catching Moon Pies as the floats roll by. Our Floats and Food Tour is built for exactly that. It’s a four-hour Mardi Gras experience with iconic Mobile dishes, Carnival cocktails, a front-row view of the Moon Pie Drop, and prime parade-watching spots, all guided by people who’ve done this every Carnival for years. We’ll make sure you catch your Moon Pie, and yes, you’ll eat that first one right there on the street, like a local.

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Mobile throw Moon Pies at Mardi Gras?

Moon Pies became Mobile’s signature Mardi Gras throw after the city banned Cracker Jack boxes in 1971 for injuring parade-goers with their sharp corners. Moon Pies are soft, frisbee-shaped, cheap to buy in bulk, and beloved across the South, making them the perfect replacement. Today more than four million are thrown across a single Carnival season in Mobile.

Were Moon Pies invented in Mobile, Alabama?

No. Moon Pies were invented in 1917 by the Chattanooga Bakery in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where they are still made today. Mobile did not invent the Moon Pie, but the city adopted it as the signature throw of its Mardi Gras celebrations and is now strongly associated with it.

What is the Moon Pie Drop in Mobile?

The Moon Pie Drop is Mobile’s New Year’s Eve tradition, started in 2008, in which a 600-pound, 12-foot-tall electronic Moon Pie descends 317 feet down the RSA Trustmark Building to ring in the new year. It was the idea of City Councilman Fred Richardson as a way to draw people downtown. A giant edible Moon Pie is also cut and shared with the crowd.

How many Moon Pies are thrown at Mobile Mardi Gras?

More than nine hundred Moon Pies are thrown from the floats of a single Mobile parade, and over four million are thrown across one full Carnival season. Mobile is so associated with the Moon Pie that the Chattanooga Bakery often test-markets new flavors in the city.

Can I catch Moon Pies on a Mobile Mardi Gras tour?

Yes. The Bienville Bites Floats and Food Tour is a four-hour Mardi Gras experience that includes iconic Mobile dishes, Carnival cocktails, a view of the Moon Pie Drop, and prime parade-watching spots where you can catch Moon Pies as the floats roll by. Tour dates are limited and sell out fast each season.