OAKHURST — Where’s Waldo? In Oakhurst, 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 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 Branches Books, Sierra Tel, Something Special, Pak & Page, Children’s Museum of the Sierra, Oakhurst Giftworks, Cool Bean, North Shore Clothing, Yosemite Yoga Studio, Enchanted Florist & Whatnots, Oakhurst Veterinary Hospital, Dorsey’s Hallmark, Oakhurst Library, Steve’s Pet Shop, our local visitors bureau and elsewhere around the town.
Anyone who wishes to participate can pick up a ‘Find Waldo Local in Oakhurst’ passport at one of three locations: Branches Books, the Oakhurst Area Chamber of Commerce or Visit Yosemite/Madera County Visitors Bureau.
The passport contains the names of all the participating sites so players can get their passport stamped or signed for each Waldo they spot. To make things a little more challenging, Waldo’s nemesis Odlaw will also be hiding in Branches Books.
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 a copy of Where’s Waldo? Destination: Everywhere! — a tribute to Waldo’s many decades of wandering.
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 72 million Waldo books in print 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, 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 Oakhurst call Branches Books at (559) 641-2019.