Where’s Waldo? In Hamilton, NY, of course! The iconic children’s book character in the striped shirt and black-rimmed specs is visiting over twenty local businesses throughout our 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 our community, including these partners: Flour and Salt Bakery, Hamilton Movie Theater, Oliveri’s Pizzeria, Parry’s, Arts at the Palace, and more!
Anyone who wishes to participate can pick up a “Find Waldo Local in Hamilton” passport at the Colgate Bookstore, which contains the names of all the participating sites, and get their passport stamped or signed for each Waldo they spot. And to make things a little more challenging, Waldo and his friends have each dropped a precious item in the Colgate Bookstore. These items can be spotted as well. Collecting store stamps or signatures at twenty or more businesses will entitle diligent seekers entry into a grand-prize drawing on July 31, with the top prize being an eight-volume set of Waldo books. There will be a celebration of a great month of Waldo searching at the end-of-the-month Find Waldo Local party on July 31st at 3:30pm in collaboration with the Hamilton Public Library. A special scavenger hunt will start at the Hamilton Public Library and end at the Colgate Bookstore for pizza and prizes.
Martin Handford’s collections of crowd scenes took the world by storm in the late 1980s, and since then they have held a cherished spot on bookstore shelves. There are now over 70 million Waldo books in print worldwide, and they’ve been translated into over thirty-one languages. An entire generation has grown up searching for Waldo. Participants of Find Waldo Local will have the added fun of searching for items dropped by Waldo’s intrepid traveling companions: Wenda, Woof, Wizard Whitebeard, and Odlaw.
Once again, in celebration of Waldo’s longevity and popularity, his American publisher, Candlewick Press, is 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 lasts for the entire month of July. For more information about hunting for Waldo in Hamilton call the Colgate Bookstore at 315-228-6960.