• by Adam Buckman , Featured Columnist, April 8, 2024

With the moon playing a key part in Monday’s total eclipse of the sun, the company that bakes Moon Pies has created the world’s largest one.

Slices of the giant confection are set to be served to the multitudes expected to fill Levy Event Plaza in Irving, Texas, one of the nation’s best locations to experience the eclipse.

Ordinary Moon Pies -- made up of a layer of marshmallow sandwiched between graham crackers and then coated in chocolate -- are four inches in diameter. 

The “World’s Largest Moon Pie” -- as it has been dubbed by the Tennessee-based Moon Pie company, Chattanooga Bakers Inc. -- weighs 150-180 pounds, measures five feet in diameter by four inches thick, and contains 1,400 servings. 

The giant Moon Pie is part of the eclipse mania gripping the nation in advance of Monday’s total solar eclipse in which the moon and sun will align in mid-afternoon. 

The eclipse is expected to divert all attention from regular activities for millions living in, or flocking to, the regions where it can be seen best.

It will also divert the attention of all news media for most of the afternoon as well, including the cable news channels, the broadcast networks, and local TV news -- particularly in the broadcast areas encompassing the prime-viewing spots roughly from Maine to Texas.

ABC News and CBS News both announced coverage plans. ABC News coverage will run for two hours -- from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Eastern. -- in association with co-owned Nat Geo.

The live coverage -- titled “Eclipse Across America” -- will be available on multiple Disney platforms, including Disney+, ABC, National Geographic Channel, Nat Geo Wild and Hulu. 

CBS News has titled its coverage “Total Eclipse of the Heartland,” likely inspired by the title of the 1983 hit song “Total Eclipse of the Heart” by Bonnie Tyler.

CBS’s coverage is set to run for 90 minutes from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Eastern. Contributing to the coverage will be local CBS news personalities from cities and regions where CBS owns stations, who will be stationed all along the eclipse route.

From the world of non-news TV, William Shatner, 93, and Bill Nye the Science Guy will also appear on the CBS coverage.

Besides the colossal baking of an epic Moon Pie, other brands have also climbed aboard the eclipse bandwagon.

Among them: Cracker Barrel will be giving away free pancakes to in-restaurant diners.

SunChips will introduce a new flavor that day especially for the eclipse, SunChips Solar Eclipse Limited-Edition Pineapple Habanero and Black Bean Spicy Gouda.

Perfect Bar is using the dark day to “go dark” with a new dark chocolate brownie. And Clear Cut Hero says its new “Eclipse” flavor drink is the official hydration drink of the eclipse.