Where's Waldo? In Santa Cruz, of course.

Beginning Friday, July 1st (and during the entire month of July), the famous children’s book character in the striped shirt and black-rimmed specs is visiting local businesses throughout our community.

Anyone who wishes to participate can pick up a “Find Waldo Local in Santa Cruz!” Passport at Bookshop Santa Cruz, the Downtown Information Kiosk or any participating business. The passport names all the participating sites, and challenges children to get their passport stamped or signed for each Waldo they spot. The first 100 Waldo seekers to get their passports stamped or signed at ten or more sites can bring their passports back to Bookshop Santa Cruz to collect prizes. Collecting store stamps or signatures at twenty or more businesses will entitle diligent seekers to enter a grand prize drawing, with the top prize being a 6-volume deluxe set of Waldo books as well as other prizes from participating merchants.

Sponsored by Bookshop Santa Cruz and the Downtown Association of Santa Cruz, Waldo figures will be well-hidden in local business establishments including:

• 99 Bottles of Beer on the Wall
• Artisans Gallery
• Atlantis Fantasyworld
• Bhody
• Bohemian Boutique
• Bookshop Santa Cruz
• Botanic & Luxe
• A Brighter World
• Buttercup Cakes
• Cognito Clothing
• Comicopolis
• Downtown Info Kiosk
• Eco Goods
• Fybr Bamboo
• Glow 
• Go Ask Alice
• Level Up Games 
• New Leaf Community Market
• O'Neill Surf Shop
• Pacific Cookie Company
• Palace Art & Office Supply
• The Penny Ice Creamery
• Petroglyph Ceramic Lounge
• Saturn Cafe
• Sockshop and Shoe Co.
• Spokesman Bicycles
• Stripe
• Woodstock's Pizza 

Find Waldo is a great summer vacation activity, and a wonderful way for residents to support local business and the Shop Local movement.

A celebration for completing the hunt will be held on Sunday afternoon, July 29th at 2:00 at Bookshop Santa Cruz, with a Waldo party including a Waldo costume contest for kids, games and activities, a raffle for prizes, and even a visit from Waldo himself!

Where’s Waldo is the creation of Martin Handford, whose entertaining drawings of crowd scenes swept the world in 1987. Since then, the Where’s Waldo books have held a cherished spot on bookstore shelves the world over. There are now over 58 million Waldo books in print worldwide and they’ve been translated into eighteen languages. An entire generation has grown up searching for Waldo and his cast of wandering companions.