News Release

Arts in the Park Weekend

The Lackawanna Valley as portrayed by George Inness

News Release Date: August 14, 2025

Contact: Brando Brandini, 570-241-8173

SCRANTON, Pa. – Steamtown National Historic Site invites the public to attend Arts in the Park Weekend on Saturday, August 23, and Sunday, August 24, 2025. All programs will begin inside the newly reopened Visitor Center. A Q&A session will follow each presentation, expected to last 30 minutes to an hour. General admission to the park and event is free.

The weekend precedes Railfest 2025 happening Labor Day weekend and leads into the National Park Service’s 109th birthday on Monday, August 25, honoring the agency’s legacy in preserving and interpreting America’s national treasures.

Programs and Presentations:

Saturday, August 23

• 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM – National Park Service and the Impact of the Works Progress Administration – Ranger Larry ScucciThis engaging program examines the founding of the National Park Service and the Works Progress Administration’s role in promoting parks during the New Deal era. Learn how WPA artists created vibrant posters and illustrations that inspired Americans to visit their public lands and discover the legacy of these works in today’s park promotion.
• 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM – Railroads, Art & American Life: A Talk with J. Craig Thorpe – J. Craig ThorpeJ. Craig Thorpe has specialized in railway promotional art and illustration for more than thirty years. His work has been commissioned by rail suppliers, museums, Amtrak, and historic railroads across North America. In this talk, Thorpe explores the role of art in railroad history, featuring both his own works and classic railway advertising art. His recent book Railroads, Art & American Life will be available for purchase and signing.

Sunday, August 24

• 11:30 AM – 12:30 PM – National Park Service and the Impact of the Works Progress Administration – Ranger Bill McCarthyThis engaging program examines the founding of the National Park Service and the Works Progress Administration’s role in promoting parks during the New Deal era. Learn how WPA artists created vibrant posters and illustrations that inspired Americans to visit their public lands and discover the legacy of these works in today’s park promotion.
• 1:30 PM – 2:30 PM – George Catlin and the Origin of the Idea of National Parks – Jan LokutaAttorney and historian Jan Lokuta, a Wyoming Valley native, tells the story of 19th-century artist George Catlin, whose travels and paintings of Native American life inspired one of the earliest visions of preserving America’s landscapes for the public good, a concept that would evolve into the National Park idea.
• 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM – Creating Engine #6039: A Conversation with Mark Ciocca – Mark CioccaArtist and educator Mark Ciocca discusses the inspiration and creative process behind his linocut and silkscreen print Engine #6039, a piece selected for the prestigious Great Wall of Honesdale public art exhibition. Ciocca shares how his work combines technical skill, historical research, and community storytelling to celebrate the legacy of Grand Trunk Western No. 6039.

Arts in the Park Weekend highlights the rich intersection of art, railroad, and preservation history as it relates to Steamtown NHS and the National Park Service.

www.nps.gov/steamtown

About the National Park Service. More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America's 430 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Visit us at www.nps.gov, on Facebook www.facebook.com/nationalparkservice, Twitter www.twitter.com/natlparkservice, and YouTube www.youtube.com/nationalparkservice.