Find Waldo Local: A Fun Time for All

Communities across the country are almost two weeks into Find Waldo Local, Candlewick Press’ month-long campaign to both celebrate the 25^th anniversary of the popular series and put a spotlight on local businesses. So far, booksellers have nothing but positive news to report.

Young Eagle Harbor customers have been searching for Waldo all over town.

“We cannot tell you what an impact our Where’s Waldo? summer event is having on our community,” said Victoria Irwin, events coordinator for Eagle Harbor Book Company in Bainbridge Island, Washington. “Parents are happy, kids are ecstatic, shop owners are smiling. What’s not to love?”

Bainbridge Island parents have been admitting that they are spending more time and money in the town’s shops, but are happy to do so, said Irwin. The scavenger hunt is introducing them to new stores and allowing them to appreciate the ones they already know. Additionally, fellow business owners have been thanking Eagle Harbor for bringing Waldo and his fans to their stores. “It’s the best event ever,” said Irwin.

Find Waldo Local events in Bangor, Maine, were featured on the local news station, where Gibran Graham of The Briar Patch Bookstore noted that it isn’t only children who are getting in the Waldo spirit — stores are having fun with it too. The hunt for Waldo is also bringing many new and different faces into the local shops.

“We’ve seen a lot of new people in The Briar Patch,” said Graham. “I’ve heard from other store owners that they’ve had people come in who told them they had never been in before, and maybe would never have come in, without coming in with their kids to find Waldo.”

Waldo is hiding in Manteo and Duck, North Carolina, home of Duck's Cottage.

At Duck’s Cottage stores in Duck and Manteo, North Carolina, Find Waldo Local is “going great,” said manager Jamie Layton. “It’s so much fun!” The store had a float in the Fourth of July parade to promote the campaign and is handing out a double-sided bookmark featuring lists of participating businesses — one side for Duck, the other for Manteo.

Each day of the celebration in the resort community, Layton has been posting a photo to the bookstore’s Facebook of Waldo inside a participating business and customers are asked to guess which business he’s in. At the end of the day, she posts another photo of Waldo outside the business to reveal the correct answer.

Since Waldo is 25 years old, it has been nostalgic for parents too, said Layton, adding that they are often the ones to recognize Waldo. “It’s such a great idea by Candlewick,” she said, “to introduce him to a new generation. And it’s been so much fun! I hope everyone else is having as much fun as we are.”