Where’s Waldo? in Fort Smith throughout July

Isla May, owner of Edible Ideaz, affixes a promotional sticker to her store entrance on Friday, July 1, 2022, in downtown Fort Smith. The bakery was one of 17 local businesses and museums that spent the day kicking off the 10th annual Find Waldo Local summer activity, a citywide search in which spotters who locate hidden Waldo figures collect stamps from the participating businesses and exchange them for prizes from host sponsor Bookish: An Indie Shop For Folks Who Read. A drawing for a deluxe set of Waldo books will be held at a grand celebration July 31 at Bookish when the promotion ends. Visit nwaonline.com/220702Daily/ for today's photo gallery.
(NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
Isla May, owner of Edible Ideaz, affixes a promotional sticker to her store entrance on Friday, July 1, 2022, in downtown Fort Smith. The bakery was one of 17 local businesses and museums that spent the day kicking off the 10th annual Find Waldo Local summer activity, a citywide search in which spotters who locate hidden Waldo figures collect stamps from the participating businesses and exchange them for prizes from host sponsor Bookish: An Indie Shop For Folks Who Read. A drawing for a deluxe set of Waldo books will be held at a grand celebration July 31 at Bookish when the promotion ends. Visit nwaonline.com/220702Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)

FORT SMITH -- The iconic children's book character Waldo from the "Where's Waldo?" series is taking a summer trip around the United States. One of his stops is Fort Smith.

People can search for his red and white striped shirt and black-rimmed glasses at 17 local businesses throughout July.

Bookish, downtown at 70 S. Seventh St., will have Waldo passports available for pickup. Participants have until July 29 to find as many Waldos as possible, and if they visit 10 or more businesses, they'll be entered to win prizes in a drawing July 30.

Participating businesses include: Fort Smith Coffee Co., Phat Tire Bike Shop, Olen & Co., Timeless Oddities and Curiosities, Amazing Graze, Gallery on Garrison, Hazel's Haven, Edible Ideaz, Yeagers Hardware, Sweetbay, Fort Smith Museum of History, Snoopers Barn, North Shore Hawaiian Ice, Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, Bliss Cupcakes, the Levit Music Festival and Bookish.

The event is organized by Candlewick Press and the American Booksellers Association, who have teamed with independent bookstores across the country for 10 years to encourage residents to shop at their local businesses and have some hide-and-seek fun.

Martin Handford's collections of crowd scenes took the world by storm in the late 1980s, and since then more than 78 million Waldo books have been sold worldwide, making this event something several generations can enjoy.

Call Bookish at (479) 434-8631 for more information about hunting for Waldo in Fort Smith.

  photo  A cardboard Waldo figure displays on a shelf as Meagan Matlock (right), owner of Hazel’s Haven, and Tatum Thompson, store manager, work on Friday, July 1, 2022, at the store in Fort Smith. Hazel’s Haven was one of 17 local businesses and museums that spent the day kicking off the 10th annual Find Waldo Local summer activity, a citywide search in which spotters who locate the hidden figures collect stamps from the participating businesses and exchange them for prizes from host sponsor Bookish: An Indie Shop For Folks Who Read. A drawing for a deluxe set of Waldo books will be held at a grand celebration July 31 at Bookish when the promotion ends. Visit nwaonline.com/220702Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
 
 
  photo  A cardboard Waldo figure displays on Friday, July 1, 2022, on a shelf at Hazel’s Haven in Fort Smith. The boutique women’s clothing store was one of 17 local businesses and museums that spent the day kicking off the 10th annual Find Waldo Local summer activity, a citywide search in which spotters who locate the hidden figures collect stamps from the participating businesses and exchange them for prizes from host sponsor Bookish: An Indie Shop For Folks Who Read. A drawing for a deluxe set of Waldo books will be held at a grand celebration July 31 at Bookish when the promotion ends. Visit nwaonline.com/220702Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
 
 
  photo  A cardboard Waldo figure displays on Friday, July 1, 2022, on a shelf at Phat Tire Bike Shop in Fort Smith. The store was one of 17 local businesses and museums that spent the day kicking off the 10th annual Find Waldo Local summer activity, a citywide search in which spotters who locate the hidden figures collect stamps from the participating businesses and exchange them for prizes from host sponsor Bookish: An Indie Shop For Folks Who Read. A drawing for a deluxe set of Waldo books will be held at a grand celebration July 31 at Bookish when the promotion ends. Visit nwaonline.com/220702Daily/ for today's photo gallery. (NWA Democrat-Gazette/Hank Layton)
 
 


Upcoming Events