Pulling off a free concert featuring notable national music acts in the middle of a widely used public park on the first official weekend of summer never promised to be an easy task.
Public officials in Wilkes-Barre deserve considerable praise for juggling every possible variable — considering there was no real estimate on how many people could wind up in the park Saturday night listening to Lady A and En Vogue — to make sure the event went off relatively hitch-free. In doing so, they set a standard Northeast Pennsylvania should push to build on long after these busy few months are gone.
Thousands flocked to the park to see the long-awaited fourth installment of the Commonwealth Concert Series. Organized by the America250PA committee, the event was designed by the state as the local kickoff to the celebration of the country’s 250th birthday. However, it had the feel of another in a long line of major events here.
Last week, when the Union Pacific Big Boy 4014 steamed over the historic Tunkhannock Creek Viaduct, through the rails that snake through our communities and into the Steamtown National Historic Site for a weeks-long public display, it drew the attention of thousands of out-of-state visitors. An estimated 48,000 visitors flocked to Steamtown on June 15 and 16, remarkably making it the busiest days there since the National Park Service opened it in 1995.
Steamtown officials estimate around 85,000 interested observers will walk through the gates to see Big Boy 4014 before it heads toward Philadelphia on July 1.
A fireworks display followed Lady A’s performance in Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. (Bob Kalinowski / Staff Photographer)
Lady A performs at the America250PA concert at Kirby Park on Saturday, June 20, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
A group of friends, Mary Wenger, 51, of Swoyersville, left, Ed Marchessault, 56, of Lehighton, center, and Trisha Wildey, 50, of Luzerne, right, dressed in patriotic attire for the America250PA concert featuring Lady A and En Vogue. (Bob Kalinowski / Staff Photographer)
Charles Kelley, left, and Hillary Scott, of Lady A sing together at the America250PA concert at Kirby Park on Saturday, June 20, 2026. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
The performance stage at Kirby Park on Friday, June 19, 2026 ahead of the America250PA concert featuring Lady A and En Vogue on Saturday. (JASON ARDAN / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Union Pacific train engineer Ed Dickens in the driver’s seat in the cab of Big Boy 4014, the world’s largest operating steam locomotive, at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton on Friday, June 19, 2026. The 4014 is on a cross-country America250 tour and stopped in Scranton for a two-week stay for the Big Boy Reunion with Steamtown’s non-operational Big Boy 4012. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Union Pacific engineer Ed Dickens poses for a photograph with rail fans near the Big Boy 4014 steam locomotive at the Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton Friday, June 19, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
People visit the Steamtown National Historic Site Tuesday, June 16, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Brenda and Mike Busch, of Duryea, take a selfie in front of the Union Pacifiic Boy Boy 4014 steam locomotive at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton Monday, June 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
People gather near the Union Pacifiic Boy Boy 4014 steam locomotive at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton Monday, June 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
People gather near the Union Pacifiic Boy Boy 4014 steam locomotive at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton Monday, June 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
People gather near the Union Pacifiic Boy Boy 4014 steam locomotive at Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton Monday, June 15, 2026. (SEAN MCKEAG / STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)
Crowds of people in long lines Monday, June 15, 2026 near Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton for the opening day of the “Big Boy Reunion” event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Crowds of people in long lines Monday, June 15, 2026 near Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton for the opening day of the “Big Boy Reunion” event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Crowds of people in long lines Monday, June 15, 2026 on Lackawanna Avenue near Steamtown National Historic Site in Scranton for the opening day of the “Big Boy Reunion” event. (JIM LOCKWOOD / STAFF PHOTO)
Big Boy No. 4014, left, and steam locomotive No. 2102 ride in tandem on the double tracks past the Reading and Northern Penobscot passenger station in Fairview Twp. on Sunday, June 14, 2026. BILL TARUTIS / CONTRIBUTING PHOTOGRAPHER
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A fireworks display followed Lady A’s performance in Kirby Park in Wilkes-Barre on Saturday. (Bob Kalinowski / Staff Photographer)
Both the Big Boy arrival and the Kirby Park concert presented some logistical issues for venues not used to holding such events, and they both have proven they’ll be remembered as trademark moments in the area for years to come.
The World Cup Fan Zone in Scranton, which will run July 4 and 5, then again for the third-place game on July 18 and the final on July 19, provides a similar opportunity. It would hardly be a shock if thousands jam their way into Scranton’s Courthouse Square to watch some of the most important games during the globe’s biggest sports tournament and share in one of its great cultural celebrations those four days. It means another big organizational and logistical lift for city officials and a test for public services, but we’ve proven that the area is equipped for those.
This summer of celebrations unmatched for generations is proving that our region should no longer be considered a mere pitstop destination on the way to New York City or Philadelphia.
Northeast Pennsylvania is far more than a conduit of convenience for the major cities it sits near. We can host these celebratory events and create significant experiences for our residents and out-of-town visitors long after the summer of 2026 and all going on around it conclude.
This is a place people should want to be, to see things they can’t see elsewhere, to experience fun in ways they don’t at home, to spend their hard-earned money and precious time because it has proven to be an ideal, worthwhile place to do both.
It is the perfect time for area residents and officials to embrace that.
These last few weeks, our community has gone from being passive observers to these major cultural events to one firmly in the middle of the official celebrations. This should not just come with great economic implications, but with important psychological ones for the area.
When that family that picnics at Kirby Park sees music fans listening to one of the great R&B groups of the 1990s and arguably the hottest and most decorated country act of the early 2010s, it builds a greater appreciation for what we have always had here. When thousands come to an area jewel to see a locomotive, or pack a public square to watch a soccer match, it makes it more difficult to think of trying times and easier to see a better tomorrow.
Our leaders, tourism experts and business owners can keep the momentum and help market the region aggressively, so we must not accept this summer as a one-off. We must use these events to show off what else we have: Our other wonderful parks, our restaurants, our sports teams, our history, our affordability.
If we can continue to build off these events and show these kinds of crowds are welcomed and entertained, we can only become more of a destination. We must now plan for how we can continue to fill the stage we’ve built for ourselves in the future.