Local businesses join forces in beloved annual event celebrating “shop local”

Where’s Waldo? In Grand Rapids, MN, of course! Celebrating its twelfth anniversary in July 2024, Find Waldo Local has become a beloved summertime event in communities nationwide. This year, Candlewick Press and the American Booksellers Association are again teaming up with 310 independent bookstores nationwide, including Wildflower Bookshop, 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.

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 Spartan Deli, Shaw Florist, The Evergreen, and many more. Find Waldo Local is a wonderful way to support the Shop Local movement by increasing foot traffic to a variety of stores.

To join in the fun, people can simply pick up a “Find Waldo Local in Grand Rapids, MN!” stamp card at any of the participating stores. 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 2024 gold medal hidden in Wildflower Bookshop! 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. All participants are welcome to attend the celebration party at Wildflower Bookshop on

Saturday, July 27th from 10—11 a.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 in Grand Rapids, MN, call Wildflower Bookshop at 218-999-7196. To see a map of all participating stores, visit www.indiebound.org.