<P> Newport, Tennessee held its first annual MoonPie Festival in May 2012 . </P> <P> The company is celebrating its centennial anniversary with a clever "Totally Mooned"' tie - in' promotion in August 2017, in a nod to the total solar eclipse that will be viewable in a 70 - mile band stretching across the entirety of the United States, from Oregon to South Carolina . </P> <P> The MoonPie became a traditional "throw" (an item thrown from a parade float into the crowd) of Mardi Gras "krewes" (parade participants) in Mobile, Alabama during 1956, followed by other communities along the Mississippi Gulf Coast . The westernmost outpost of the MoonPie as an important Carnival throw is Slidell, Louisiana, which has a parade by "The Krewe of Mona Lisa and MoonPie". Also, in the town of Oneonta, Alabama, there is a MoonPie eating contest started by Wal - Mart employee John Love when he inadvertently ordered too many . This anecdote was featured in Sam Walton's autobiography, Made in America . </P> <P> The MoonPie is a traditional celebratory food for remembering the Apollo 11 moon walk that took place on July 20, 1969 . MoonPies are used in the commemorative celebration by aerospace workers and enthusiasts across the globe . </P>

Why do they throw moon pies at mardi gras
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