MoonPie Mania Hitting Mobile

MoonPie Mania Hitting Mobile

GIANT MOONPIE & LASER SHOW DEBUTING ON NEW YEAR'S EVE

MOBILE, Ala., Nov. 29, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Tired of Times Square on New Year's? Try something new. Go Coastal! New Year's Eve plans in Mobile, Alabama just got sweeter - thanks to a massive MoonPie that will fall from the sky at midnight to the sounds of the O'Jays.

Revelers can enjoy a RC Cola or a glass of champagne to ring in the New Year in downtown Mobile. This year's free celebration will be held in a new location and feature live entertainment with an electronic display debuting at midnight. The 12-foot-tall MoonPie will descend from a 34-story building as the city welcomes 2011 and the beginning of Mardi Gras season.

This year's MoonPie Over Mobile celebration will start the afternoon of Dec. 31 with a Mardi Gras-style parade. Afterwards, a street party featuring two stages of live entertainment will help draw thousands of people downtown. At midnight, all eyes will be on the RSA BankTrust skyrise for the new MoonPie countdown, accompanied by an elaborate laser and fireworks show.

"Downtown Mobile is going to be the place to be this New Year's Eve," said Mayor Sam Jones. First started in 2008, MoonPie Over Mobile gives locals and tourists a chance to experience New Year's Eve with a bit of Mardi Gras flavor.

"All eyes will be on Mobile this New Year's Eve," said Dr. David G. Bronner, CEO of the Retirement Systems of Alabama. "The new laser show on our building will be a real showstopper."

Why a MoonPie?

Mobile is the home of America's first Mardi Gras celebration, and the MoonPie is the favored "throw" of the hundreds of Mardi Gras maskers riding the floats during the extensive Mardi Gras parade season. Today, Mobile consumes more than four million MoonPies annually, and has adopted the delicious treat as an informal emblem. This southern city has teamed up with Chattanooga Bakery, the maker of the iconic MoonPie marshmallow sandwich, to create the largest electronic MoonPie as the featured attraction for its New Year's Eve celebration.

Mardi Gras was first discovered in the New World in 1703 at the first settlement of Mobile, and currently has more than 50 parading and non-parading organizations. An estimated 850,000 people attend parades, parties and other organizations associated with the carnival festivities.

For more information, consumers should visit: www.mobile.org.

Additional details on MoonPie Over Mobile can be found at www.mobilenewyear.com

Downloadable images of last year's MoonPie Over Mobile Celebration can be found at http://www.yousendit.com/transfer.php?action=batch_download&send_id=98

Additional Mobile images can be found at www.mobile.org

More information on the O'Jays is available at www.theojayshomepage.com.

B-Roll, interviews and additional images are available upon request.

SOURCE Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau

Mobile Bay Convention and Visitors Bureau

CONTACT: Barbara Drummond, Communications Director, City of Mobile, +1-251-208-7807, drummond@cityofmobile.org; or Bill Lang, Director of Public Relations, PCH Hotels & Resorts, +1-205-298-7128, bill.lang@pchresorts.com; or Stacy Hamilton, Vice President of Marketing & Communications, Mobile Bay Convention & Visitors Bureau, +1-251-208-2003, Stacy-hamilton@mobile.org; or Rob Klepper, +1-850-933-8762, Rob.klepper@geigerpr.com

Web Site: http://www.mobile.org

-------
Profile: intent