PRESQUE ISLE, Maine — Neighborhood Books is participating in the Finding Waldo Local event, which is in its 11th year.
Indie Bookstores hold the Finding Waldo Local event every July to help support local businesses. This is the first year Neighborhood Books will participate.
The Find Waldo Local promotion developed by “Where’s Waldo” publisher Candlewick Press began in 2012 with a test run held the year prior at Eight Cousins in Falmouth, Massachusetts, according to an article published last year in Publishers Weekly.
A stamp card is given out at Neighborhood Books, or any other small businesses participating in the event. The schedule of Finding Waldo Local began on July 1 and ends on July 29 with a party at Neighborhood Books.
“It’s something that the American Booksellers Association and the publisher of ‘Where’s Waldo?’ helps put on for indie bookstores,” said Laura Hale, owner of Neighborhood Books.
Some small businesses like Little Blossoms Boutique, Big Cheese Pizza, Home Ec. Market, Flannel & Barrel, Cosmic, Bubble Tea Cafe, and Fuel ME have joined the Finding Waldo Local event.
Area businesses have donated prizes that will be pulled from a number of participating stamp cards with a grand prize of a stack of “Where’s Waldo?” books.
“Indie bookstores are small businesses in communities and so the goal is to promote small bookstores but also the small businesses in the community,” Hale said.
Candlewick Press sends out the Waldo stamp cards and stand-up images to be placed in Neighborhood Books and small businesses around Presque Isle. Hale picks out the small businesses and presents them with letters to ask if they would like to participate.
“I think it’s a neat idea because maybe it even gets people into businesses they don’t normally think of,” Hale said.
Hale hopes Finding Waldo Local will be a yearly event that Neighborhood Books will participate in.
“I love small businesses, I love our community so I am really excited to be able to host this and include the other businesses with us,” Hale said.
The last day for participating small businesses to sign up was June 28, and only 24 small businesses can participate in the event.
An explanation of the rules can be found on Neighborhood Books’ Facebook page.
