Find Waldo in Galesburg. Summertime activity helps support Shop Local movement

GALESBURG — Where’s Waldo? In Galesburg, of course.

The iconic children’s book character in the red-and-white-striped shirt and black-rimmed specs is visiting 25 local businesses throughout the community this July. Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2022, Find Waldo Local is a summer vacation activity and a way to support local businesses, including the Galesburg Public Library and other downtown businesses.

Anyone who wishes to participate can pick up a “Find Waldo Local in Galesburg!” stamp card, which contains the names of all the participating sites; with each Waldo they spot, they can get their card stamped or signed by the participating shop. To make things a little more challenging, there will be one slightly different Waldo hiding in Wordsmith Bookshoppe, 235 E. Main St. Collecting store stamps or signatures at 20 or more businesses will entitle diligent seekers entry into a grand-prize drawing for Waldo books and paraphernalia.

Martin Handford’s collections of crowd scenes took the world by storm in the late 1980s, and since then the books have held a cherished place on bookstore shelves. More than 78 million Waldo books have been sold worldwide, and they’ve been translated into over thirty languages. An entire generation has grown up searching for Waldo.

Once again, in celebration of Waldo’s longevity and popularity, Candlewick Press is teaming up with the American Booksellers Association and hundreds of independent bookstores across the country for some hide-and-seek fun designed to encourage residents to patronize their local businesses.

There is no charge to participate, and the hunt lasts for the entire month of July. For more information about hunting for Waldo in Galesburg, call Wordsmith Bookshoppe at (309) 351.7767.

This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: Find Waldo in Galesburg. Summertime activity helps support Shop Local