Off-Alphabet Topic, but I Had to Share....

"Where's Waldo???"

For years (25, to be exact!) folks have been asking this question!  This question has endured for an entire generation of readers (WAY outlasting its generational counterpart question, "Where's the beef?"), and is now enjoying a second generation of fans of the red-striped shirt, including my son!  I can't tell you how many times this book saved me in situations where I had to wait with the kids:

It's a mini travel anthology of some of Waldo's greatest books!!! It even closes with an elastic (a la Moleskine, which is a testament to Waldo's well-traveled taste!).  At around $13.00, it kept my son occupied during waits in doctor's offices, restaurants, stores- you name it- since he was 3 or 4 years old- and he still loves it!

So why bring up Waldo when I'm in the thick of preparing for my RAOK blitz??? Well, first, it appears I'm not the only person with a birthday around here- (Waldo is 25!)- and my favorite bookstore is celebrating with the COOLEST free activity!   So, if you don't live in the CT area, you can bail on me now, and move on to trying to score one of these awesome travel anthologies for yourself, OR, you can stick with me and see what RJ Julia books is doing....(which I love, love, love!)

O.k., so here's what's up (oh, and CT friends, if you think this is as awesome as I do, act fast, because this is only happening until July 31st).  To celebrate the big guy's birthday, RJ Julia has created a "Where's Waldo?" scavenger hunt that takes kids up and down Main Street in Madison.  Here's how it works:

First, stop by the children's department at RJ's and let them know you'd like to join the quest for Waldo.  They'll give you a checklist that details all of the names and addresses of participating businesses.   You and your child will be searching for 6 inch tall cardboard cutouts of the elusive guy hidden in businesses in central Madison.  Besides the "hit list" of stores, each participating store has a decal hanging in its door or window, letting you and your children know that you're welcome to come in and search.  Each business has hidden its own Waldo somewhere in the store where they don't mind kids poking around. While you're in the children's department, make sure everybody uses their cute little bathroom- you'll be pounding the pavement for a while after you find your first Waldo at RJ's...

 

Now, you and your children stop in to search for Waldo in at least 16 out of the possible 25 stores.  Each time you find him, the shopkeeper gives you a "Waldo Card" to take with you.  After you've collected between 16-25 of these cards, you return to RJ Julia for an "attagirl" and a raffle ticket.  Don't ask me what the heck the prize is- I got so carried away searching with my son that I forgot to ask!  Frankly, it really doesn't matter- we had a blast searching! You can also sign up for the "Where's Waldo Birthday Bash" where I'm told Waldo will make an appearance.  Not sure how I feel about that....to me the fun is in looking- I don't WANT to know where he is ;-)!

We found the little Waldo minis in RJ Julia's, the Madison Art Cinema, the Scranton Library (THAT one was a TOUGH one!  It took us 20 minutes of looking!  And those librarians?  You'd think they took an oath on a stack of bibles to protect the location of his whereabouts- they wouldn't even narrow it down to "upstairs" or "downstairs"!  If you have a secret you've absolutely gotta tell, skip your best friend and go straight to a librarian), Peter Indorf Jewlers, the optician, and about 15 more!

We played for about 2 hours (until I started freaking out about maybe getting a parking ticket that I'd have to pay utilizing $$ set aside for grilled cheese sandwiches at RJ Julia- try their fig and arugula grilled cheese- to die for!!!) and found 20 Waldos.   It was fabulous!

Some anticipated FAQ'S:

Is there a Waldo in every store?
Yes, every participating store has a Waldo (remember, the list from RJ's and the store's decal let you know they're participating).

Do shopkeepers seem at all put out by kids cruising in and searching for Waldo?
Well, it was only myself and 1 kiddo, so we were a mellow search party.  Some of these were kind of fancy stores- if you have a more rambunctious group, I'd give them the glare and some reminders before entering each store ;-).  All of the shopkeepers we met were wonderful!  Oh, and WAY more lenient than those librarians- some even played the "hotter- colder" game to help.  One person actually said, "Your mom is pretty hot" within the context of the game- of course I had to opt to take that in the colloquial way, pat my hair, and say, "Why thank you!"  The shopkeeper was gracious enough to laugh with me....that oughtta be testimony enough that they're a friendly bunch! ;-)

How much time does it take?
We spent two hours searching at a leisurely pace and found 20.

For what ages is this most appropriate?
3-103!!!  One shop owner said that   when this first started, her 15 year old boys tried to see how fast they could do it, and had an awesome time!

On which kind of bread should I have that arugula sandwich?
Most definitely sourdough!

If you'd like to learn even more about this event or others at the bookstore, please click here.

REMEMBER, The shops turn back into pumpkins on August 1st, so get there soon, and hopefully we'll see you at the Waldo party at RJ Julia's on July 31st! :-)