Southern Living compiled a list of the fun, funky and likely warmer New Year's Eve celebrations in the South than what you'll find in Times Square as the ball (yawn) drops. Here's what they have to say about MoonPie Over Mobile!
The countdown to midnight in Times Square is one of the most universally recognized ways to ring in the new year. The large crystal ball, decked out with lights, slowly descending for the last sixty seconds of the year before fireworks and confetti signal the turn of the calendar, is an iconic tradition.
But if you’re in the South, there are other, arguably more creative and just as iconic, ways to ring in a new year. Cities often celebrate by doing their own ‘ball’ drop, which sometimes resemble the one in Times Square, but oftentimes aren’t a ball at all.
If you’re looking for a warmer (probably) and less crowded way to experience the excitement of a ball drop on New Year’s Eve, here are some of the most quirky and charming ones that you’ll find across the South.
MoonPie Over Mobile Drop: Mobile, Alabama
MoonPies originated in Chattanooga, Tennessee, but they’re a central part of Mobile, Alabama’s Mardi Gras celebrations. They’ve become one of the favorite “throws” to catch at parades, and for the past 18 years the MoonPie over Mobile Drop rings in the new year for the city. It also drops before every Mardi Gras parade.
The 600 pound MoonPie falls at noon for kids and again at midnight on December 31, and there’s an entire evening of free entertainment for the nearly 50,000 visitors who attend the event. Attendees can also get a piece of the world’s largest edible moonpie while they’re there and participate in the second line parade that happens before the clock hits midnight.
Read the entire list on SouthernLiving.com.
