COAL GROVE — The village of Coal Grove kicked off the Christmas season Friday evening with its annual Christmas parade, beginning on Marion Pike and ending at Paul Porter Park.
The parade is sponsored by the Coal Grove Betterment Club, and featured hot chocolate and cookies under the park pavilion at the parade’s conclusion.
“This is something the village does to give back to the community,” Coal Grove Mayor Larry McDaniel said.
The parade has been going on since the mid-1990s, with only a brief period in between where it didn’t happen.
“We want to thank everybody who came out to the parade, and our donators for providing the hot chocolate and cookies,” Vickie McDaniel, Coal Grove Betterment Club president, said. “And we have a lot of new lights in the park for people to enjoy.”
The parade roster included Santa Claus, the VFW Color Guard, Mayor McDaniel, the village clerks and council, the Dawson-Bryant High School Marching Band, Color Guard and cheerleaders, the Dawson-Bryant Middle School cheerleaders, the Coal Grove Little League Cheerleaders (A,B and C teams), Dawson-Bryant superintendent Steve Easterling and the board of education, the Lady Hornets basketball team, the Dawson-Bryant High School Christian Youth Association (CYO), the Dawson-Bryant Elementary School Run Team, Smokey the Bear from the Wayne National Forest and the Coal Grove fire and police departments.