FARMINGTON — Where’s Waldo? In Farmington, Maine, of course! Find Waldo Local has become a beloved summertime event nationwide. This year, Candlewick Press and the American Booksellers Association are again teaming up with 325 independent bookstores nationwide, including DDG Booksellers, for some hide-and-seek fun designed to encourage folks to explore their local communities. There is no charge to participate, and the hunt lasts for the entire month of July.
Families love joining the scavenger hunt to find the iconic children’s book character, with his red-and-white-striped shirt and black glasses, hidden in twenty-five local businesses, including Up Front & Pleasant Gourmet, Twice Sold Tales, and The Lion’s Den Thrift Shop. “We love to see the anticipation on kids’ faces as they wander the store, peeking around corners, in hopes of glimpsing Waldo’s iconic stripes. And knowing that when their passports are all stamped, they’ve all gone on a journey around our town—maybe meeting new people, maybe viewing a familiar place in an entirely new way,” says meg willing, assistant manager at DDG.
To join in the fun, people can simply pick up a “Find Waldo Local in downtown Farmington!” stamp card at DDG Booksellers. With each miniature Waldo they spot, searchers get their card stamped or signed by the participating shop. Eagle-eyed hunters can also look for Waldo’s special 2025 red and white-striped magnifying glass in DDG! Collecting store stamps or signatures at twenty or more businesses will entitle diligent seekers entry into a grand-prize drawing for Waldo books and other prizes generously donated by local businesses. All participants are welcome to attend the celebration party at DDG Booksellers on Thursday, July 31, at 5:30 p.m.
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, in family libraries, and in classrooms around the world. More than 80 million Waldo books have been sold worldwide, and they’ve been translated into over thirty languages.
For more information about hunting for Waldo DDG Booksellers, call them at 778-3465.