Philly Phanatic
History
The Coatesville Christmas Parade was begun in the 1950's, and taken over as a project of the Coatesville chapter of the JAYCEES in the 1970s'. The parade was held yearly until the late 1980's when the parade's core organizers turned 41 and were no longer eligible for membership in the organization. The parade passed into history, or so it seemed.


In the early 1990's missing the spectacle and sense of community spirit the parade inspired, this group of former JAYCEES along with other members of the Coatesville community and with the support of the Stewart Huston Charitable Trust and the City of Coatesville decided it was time to revise the parade tradition.

The Coatesville Christmas Parade, Inc. was established as a Pennsylvania nonprofit, 501 (c)(4), corporation to "establish, support, manage and supervise services to provide an annual program for the betterment of the community through a parade that combats community deterioration ..."

The parade committee raises the funds needed to stage the parade by soliciting donations from local businesses, philanthropic organizations, community groups and local citizens throughout Western Chester County.

Beginning again in 1994 the first Saturday in December has seen Coatesville's main street lined with thousands of spectators watching bands, floats, school groups, cub scouts, brownie troops, antique and customized autos, fire trucks, clowns and many others welcoming Santa and officially starting the holiday season.