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The June celebration of Founders Day, on the 27th, promises a fun event with music, food, vendors and entertainment while highlighting the community’s rich history and small-town charm. The annual celebration is coordinated by the Tunkhannock Business and Professional Association with Peoples Security Bank and The Greens at Shadowbrook as major sponsors. Additional sponsors are Welsh Insurance and H & D Waste, according to Nancy Parlo, TBPA Director.
The Reading & Northern steam locomotive #2102, returns this year and will bring over 600 passengers and crew from the Jim Thorpe/Nesquehoning area. Those attending Founders Day can get a glimpse of this historic train in Riverside Park. Please note that train rides and tours will not be offered during this event, but visitors will be welcome to take all the photos they wish.
This year, an expanded Family Fun Zone is being hosted at the future home of Bridgewater Church, on the corner of Tioga and Slocum. “The large grassy yard is a great opportunity to offer a neat variety of kids games and activities,” according to Kurt Goglin, church campus pastor and a member of the TBPA Board of Directors. There is a fun filled day planned with a bubble zone, inflatables, 9-Square and Gaga in addition to Arts and Crafts. Dancers from Stage Door Dance, under the direction of Judy Weist, will perform at 11:30am. The church partnered with the Tunkhannock Area Recreation Association on this project.
The Kitson Arts Alliance is working with TBPA to organize music at three locations; in front of Kitson Art Gallery, at the corner of Tioga and Warren near Twigs, and also at the intersection of Tioga and Pine, near Wyoming County Beverage. Line up includes the JP Williams Blues Band, Axe & Fiddle, Matt Bennick Blues Guitarist, Matt Harrison and the Endless Mountains Barbershop Chorus.
“Some of this year’s eclectic vendors include home décor crafted in unique materials, animal treats and fashions, farm fresh food, wood crafts and custom designed metal products for home and garden,” according to Parlo. We have a great variety of returning artisans that many visitors will recognize along with some creative pop-ups that are joining us for the first time. A wide array of vendors will also be offering art, fabric crafts, oil and watercolor paintings, woodworking, specialty food items, jewelry, photography, and other unique trades and professions. Several non-profit and service groups are also taking advantage of the great atmosphere to provide information.
Food vendors at Founders Day are always a popular stop. In addition to the vendors located near Tioga and Pine, Nativity BVM Church will be selling their popular Haluski and Pierogies, along with hot dogs. This year Warren St. on the side Twigs Restaurant will offer a tasting spot with a featured distillery, winery and hard cider along with a food truck.
Tunkhannock is also home to many unique, and in most cases, women owned businesses both in and outside of the historic district. Towns newest stop is Evergreen Studio on Tioga offering workshops and events. No one visiting Tunkhannock has to look hard for food options from the restaurants with a long history of commitment to the newest options like Tioga Street’s Draught and Barrel and Sweets on 6, along with El Mercadito near the intersection of Bridge and Tioga Sts.
Visitors to Tunkhannock can also tour the Classic Car Show at Sherwood Chevrolet. Wyoming County Beverage is hosting a tasting tent with some new offerings for summer.
The Dietrich Theater will host “July 4, 1776 – Breaking News: Independence is Declared! This free 11am presentation is offered by the Daughters of the American Revolution and shares how the news of the Declaration of Independence could only travel at the pace of the fastest horse. The theater is also hosting a DAR America 250 exhibit. In the evening, the Dietrich Theater will be hosting Shakespeare in the Park – Hamlet, in Tunkhannock’s Riverside Park, at 7:00 p.m. The free production will be performed by the Gamut Theatre Group. Please bring your own blanket or chair.
Tioga Street will be closed to traffic from Warren to McCord Streets, allowing visitors better access to the car shows that is being held near the Sherwood dealership. To reduce the amount of traffic coming into Tunkhannock, there are two shuttle and parking areas. Traffic that is going through town will be diverted off Tioga Street onto McCord and away from Tioga Street.
Shuttle buses will be operating from the Lackawanna College, Tunkhannock campus parking lot and the other from behind Ace Robbins Gas and Propane at the United Methodist Church “The Gathering” field. There will be directional signage for each location.
