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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Steve Taren thinks now is the time to promote Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>Taren, who has owned Wet Paint Printing and Design on Horton Street for 27 years, was on Public Square at Thursday&#8217;s Farmer Market selling &#8220;Everything Wilkes-Barre&#8221; under a tent.</p><p>&#8220;We&#8217;re glad to offer these items for the city,&#8221; Taren said. &#8220;At this tent, we&#8217;re not selling fruits and vegetables &#8212; we&#8217;re selling Wilkes-Barre.&#8221;</p><p>Taren has tee shirts, hats, mugs, bumper stickers, life-size cutouts of John Wilkes and Col. Isaac Barre and shelf buddies &#8212; miniature renderings of the Hotel Sterling, the Stegmaier Brewery, Florence Foster Jenkins and the three city high schools &#8212; GAR, Coughlin and Meyers &#8212; and more.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s time to celebrate our city,&#8221; Taren said. &#8220;And celebrate its history &#8212; its people, its buildings, its heritage.&#8221;</p><p>Taren&#8217;s idea is timely &#8212; the City of Wilkes-Barre will celebrate its 250th anniversary with a Founders&#8217; Day celebration on Saturday, Sept. 7 in Kirby Park.</p><p>The city is partnering with the Greater Wilkes-Barre Chamber of Commerce and the Diamond City Partnership to host a Founders&#8217; Day Festival in Kirby Park with a spectacular firework display at roughly 9 p.m. The festivities will begin at 11 a.m. and include games, food vendors, hot air balloon rides and live entertainment.</p><p>And, Mayor Tony George notes that Wilkes-Barre is the oldest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania.</p><p>Taren said his Everything Wilkes-Barre tent was busy Thursday. He said people were buying T-shirts and hats and a few shelf buddies. He said the T-shirts and hats depicting the three city high schools were very popular. The three schools will become one this year as far as athletics goes. The new high school is being constructed off of North Main Street in Plains Township and should be open in two years.</p><p>One of the T-shirts Taren has for sale pictures St. Vincent de Paul and all money received for those items will go to the kitchen on Jackson Street.</p><p>Taren said he plans to redo all the window at the St. Vincent de Paul Kitchen and also get them new signs for the kitchen and clothes closet.</p><p>Taren will be at the kitchen Aug. 22 at 4 p.m. He said he will also bring &#8220;a big check&#8221; to donate to the kitchen.</p><p>A new website for Everything Wilkes-Barre will be up within two weeks, Taren said.</p><p><strong>City history</strong></p><p>The first attempt at settlement was in 1762 by members of the Susquehanna Company of Connecticut. Permanent settlement was in 1769 and by 1770 Sons of Liberty leader Colonel John Durkee laid out 50 town plots and named the Yankee village after John Wilkes and Isaac Barr&#233;, two British members of Parliament who supported the colonial America cause in the House of Commons.</p><p>Originally, Native American tribes known as the Iroquois Confederacy came to Wilkes-Barre and the Wyoming Valley to fish and hunt. Several smaller tribes would briefly pass through the area at the invitation or subjection of the Iroquois.</p><p>In 1786, Wilkes-Barre is named the county seat of Luzerne County. In 1806, Wilkes-Barre was incorporated as a Borough and Jesse Fell was elected burgess. In 1871 it was incorporated as a city and Ira Mandeville Kirkendall was elected mayor.</p><p>The Founders&#8217; Day Festival is seeking corporate sponsorships. For further information please call Patty Hughes, special events coordinator, at 570-208-4149.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Steve Taren is trying to promote Wilkes-Barre and it&#8217;s history. Taren has set up a stand at the Farmer&#8217;s Market &#8212; Everything Wilkes-Barre &#8212; with all items about the city. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_TTL081619wetpaint1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Steve Taren is trying to promote Wilkes-Barre and it&#8217;s history. Taren has set up a stand at the Farmer&#8217;s Market &#8212; Everything Wilkes-Barre &#8212; with all items about the city. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_TTL081619wetpaint2.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Steve Taren is trying to promote Wilkes-Barre and it&#8217;s history. Taren looks at his inventory of tee shirts at his stand on Public Square during Thursday&#8217;s Farmers Market. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/web1_TTL081619wetpaint2.jpg</photo1><caption1>Steve Taren is trying to promote Wilkes-Barre and it&#8217;s history. Taren looks at his inventory of tee shirts at his stand on Public Square during Thursday&#8217;s Farmers Market. </caption1><photoCredit1>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Everything at ‘Everything Wilkes-Barre’ is about Wilkes-Barre — everything!