Where’s Waldo? In Fort Thomas, of course! The famous children’s book character in the striped shirt and black-rimmed specs is visiting twenty-eight local businesses throughout the Fort Thomas community this July. Find Waldo Local is a great summer vacation activity and a wonderful way to support local businesses and the Shop Local movement in the community, including Barre3, Fort Thomas Central, Smitty’s Barber Shop, Top This Donut Bar, and, of course, Blue Marble Books.
Anyone who wishes to participate can pick up a Find Waldo in Fort Thomas! passport (which, Blue Marble graciously provided for CP readers to download), which contains the names of all the participating sites, and get their passport stamped or signed for each Waldo they spot. Collecting store stamps or signatures at twenty or more businesses will entitle diligent seekers entry into a grand-prize drawing on July 30th, with the top prize being a six-volume deluxe set of Waldo books. This year, participants can also #ColorWaldoAndWin: when they share a completed coloring sheet of Waldo on Instagram, they’ll be entered into a drawing to be one of five lucky winners of a deluxe prize pack.
Waldo is the creation of Martin Handford, whose entertaining drawings of crowd scenes swept the world in the late eighties. Since then, the Where’s Waldo? books have held a cherished spot on bookstore shelves the world over. There are now over 65 million Waldo books in print worldwide, and they’ve been translated into over thirty languages. An entire generation has grown up searching for Waldo and his cast of wandering companions.
In celebration of Waldo’s longevity and popularity, his American publisher, Candlewick Press, is once again teaming up with the American Booksellers Association and two hundred and fifty independent bookstores across the country for some hide-and-seek fun to encourage communities to patronize their local businesses.
There is no charge to participate, and the hunt begins this Friday, July 1 and ends on Saturday, July 29. Blue Marble Books will be hosting a Waldo Wrap-up Party on Saturday, July 30 from 10:30-11:30 a.m.
CP Reporter Andrea will be sharing her experience finding Waldo in an upcoming feature! For more information about Finding Waldo Local in Fort Thomas, call Blue Marble Books at 859-781-0602.