FARMINGTON — Where’s Waldo? In Farmington, of course! The iconic children’s book character in the red-and-white-striped shirt and black-rimmed specs is visiting 20 local businesses throughout our community this July, to create summertime fun supporting the Shop Local Movement.

Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2022, Find Waldo Local is a great summer vacation activity and a wonderful way to support local businesses, including Sandy River Relics, #D Games, Twice Sold Tales, and Reny’s.

Anyone who wishes to participate can pick up a “Find Waldo Local in Farmington!” stamp card, which contains the names of all the participating sites; with each Waldo they spot, they can get their card stamped or signed by the participating shop. To make things a little more challenging, there will be one slightly different Waldo hiding in DDG Booksellers. Collecting store stamps or signatures at twenty or more businesses will entitle diligent seekers entry into a grand-prize drawing for Waldo books and paraphernalia.

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. More than 78 million Waldo books have been sold 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, Candlewick Press is teaming up with the American Booksellers Association and hundreds of independent bookstores across the country for some hide-and-seek fun designed to encourage residents 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 Farmington, call DDG Booksellers at 207-778-3454.