History of Moon Pies!

Your resource for Researched Carnival Information

Mobile's Moonpies made their debute in 1974!

Carnival Souvenir made it to the mainstream for Mobile & New Orleans

Mobile, Ala. ....December 1st, 2002 In the total history of the Carnival, never has the Mobile side failed to come up with a surprise or two when it comes to one of a kind throws. Now everyone knows about New Orleans and it's new and improved version of the Zulu Coconuts, called Mardi Gras Coconuts.


Cookies and marshmallows sandwiches were invented in 1917. They are still known as moon pies.

Of course everyone knows well that Mobile throws it's unique item the moonpie, which the krewes purchase by the ton. The story of how the moon pie got its start is also well known, but if you're not familiar with the story, please head on over to to Moonpie.com and click history.

The story here revelers is the history of how a moon pie came to be used as a throw in the Mobile parades.

A lot of people that aren't that familiar with the Mobile style should know that before 1974, food has always been involved as a throw ever since 1949, when Crackerjacks, (peanuts and caramel nuggets) were throw by a lot of krewes as a treat for the revelers. Crackerjacks, were brought about because of the cheap alternative it presented to beads.

However, people kept getting beamed with the end of those rectangular boxes that the treats came in, and those box ends were hard and sharp. Sensing something needed to be done the mobile city official banned the candied popcorn as a throw about 1972.

A lot treats and articles preceded the mobile icon into the parades as the krewes searched for a replacement, to the popular popcorn in a treat.

The first to throw moon pies were the krewe of "Maids of Mirth" in 1974 as an alternative to the recently banned boxes of cracker jacks. Soon other krewes were following the action as the throw caught on.

Moon Pie is a trade marked name of the Chattanooga bakery in Tennessee. These are still wrapped in it's colorful package. That bakery still put out the original moonpies which are still ordered by some. There are, however, other companies, out there, that sell other styles and brands of moonpies to the krewes by literally the ton. These should be called Mardi Gras pies.

The Chattanooga Bakery began making moon pies in 1916. They first came in graham cracker cookies with a marshmallow center. Now, the famed cookies come in chocolate, banana, coconut, orange and vanilla.

Mardi Gras pies are smaller than the original pies and come in a silver wrapper, often with an organization's emblem on the wrapper. Mardi Gras pies come now in strawberry, and apple. In 1999, we saw the return of the orange flavored mardi gras pies!

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