Raising a moon pie at midnight to mark the new year is “such a whimsical, fun New Year’s Eve idea,” Tory Johnston, vice president of marketing for Chattanooga Bakery, said in an interview. Chattanooga Bakery is the only company that makes moon pies, a round cookie-and-marshmallow snack that is popular in the American South.
“The link for us was that Mobile and the moon pie go so far back. The moon pie is the most popular throw in Mobile’s Mardi Gras.” When city councilman Fred Richardson came up with the idea of raising a giant version of the snack, “We thought, golly, why haven’t we thought about this before?” Johnston said.
Although many people assume that New Orleans is the only city that celebrates Mardi Gras in the U.S., Mobile’s celebration actually began first, in 1703. Mobile is a port city a little more than two hours east of New Orleans.
A New Idea for New Year’s Eve
Fred Richardson, who is Mobile’s City Council Vice President, said his goal was to create an attention-getting New Year’s Eve event for the region. “On the east coast they have the New York crystal ball, they have the Atlanta peach,” he said in an interview. What would attract notice for Mobile?
Well, he reasoned: “During Mardi Gras, you must have moon pies to get attention. Everybody is out there screaming ‘Moon pie! Moon pie!’ Rich or poor, black or white, no matter what – everybody wants a moon pie.” Finding a way to connect Mobile, moon pies and New Year’s Eve seemed natural.
At first, Richardson said, they thought they might drop a giant moon pie from Mobile’s tallest building, the RSA tower, or make a giant moon pie piñata that rained smaller moon pies down on the crowd. After some consideration, however, it seemed more appropriate to raise a moon pie into the sky. City workers built a metal frame, or armature, local Mardi Gras float maker Steve Mussel turned that frame into a giant moon pie, city workers added electric lighting, and local crane company R.J. Baggett donated the crane and crew to lift it at midnight on New Year’s Eve.
Moon Pies and R.C. Cola
A crowd of about 12,600 people gathered at Cooper Riverside Park, on the city’s waterfront at the Mobile River, to mark New Year’s Eve 2008 with moon pie, fireworks and music. Chattanooga Bakery brought along a 40-inch diameter, 55-pound, 45,000-calorie moon pie to slice up and serve to the crowd, as well as another 5,000 regular moon pies to give away. R.C. Cola, a southern favorite that many feel is the only correct thing to drink with a moon pie, partnered with Chattanooga Bakery and Mobile and donated some 5,000 sodas to the event.
Planning for Next New Year’s Eve
There are still a few glitches to be worked out before the giant moon pie is aloft again, however. It was set up across the Mobile River, relatively far from the New Year’s Eve crowd; because of that, it was too small against the night sky. Also, it could only be raised 125 feet because the wind was stronger than expected. So on New Year’s Eve 2009 the electronic moon pie will be set up nearer the crowd, Barbara Drummond, Mobile’s executive director of administrative services and community affairs, said in an interview.
The city will also do more marketing and branding for the event in 2009, she said. For example, in 2008 there were plenty of “Moon pie over Mobile” t-shirts for sale -- but a coveted moon pie hat was hard to find. Still, said Drummond, she was pleased with the event overall. It was pulled together in a very short time. And despite any problems, the city now has a benchmark to work from. The New Year’s Eve crowd increased dramatically over 2007’s and news sources in Canada, India and various cities in the U.S. followed the story with interest.
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