Preregistration for Find Waldo Local’s Eighth Year Begins January 23

Online preregistration to participate in the eighth annual Find Waldo Local opens on Wednesday, January 23. 

The 2019 campaign, which runs the entire month of July, brings together small business communities across the nation in hosting scavenger hunts for the striped and bespectacled picture book character. Hunts lead searchers through participating stores in their local shopping districts. Waldo hunters are eligible for prizes throughout the month at participating businesses, and celebrations will culminate in a closing party at the organizing bookstore.

ABA member stores will have until Friday, March 1, to sign up on BookWeb for the campaign, which is co-sponsored by Candlewick Press and the American Booksellers Association. Participation is capped at 250 stores.

Candlewick will once again provide bookstores with a toolkit containing everything needed to launch a Find Waldo Local event in their communities. The kit will include 25 mini Waldo standees, 25 window clings, 125 prize buttons, a Waldo poster, eight Waldo prize books, reproducible passports, $1 coupons, party activities, bag stuffers, and a sample pitch letter and press release as well as social media assets for Facebook and Twitter.

New this year, booksellers will find in their kits a mini standee for Odlaw, Waldo’s mysterious mustachioed nemesis, who will join Waldo in hiding inside stores.

In addition, back by popular demand, Candlewick will provide a four-foot-tall Waldo standee to use for photo ops with kids.

Booksellers are invited to download the 2019 campaign brochure for full details and registration requirements. Further questions can be addressed to [email protected].