Find Waldo In Reading: A True Community Collaboration

Local Businesses Joined Forces in Beloved Annual Event Celebrating “Shop Local”

Whitelam Books storefront in downtown Reading. Photo provided by Whitelam Books.

Reading, MA - Whitelam Books and twenty-four other Reading businesses recently wrapped up another successful Find Waldo Local adventure in the month of July. Find Waldo Local is a beloved summertime event in Reading, and this year featured a true collaboration of the Reading business community. 

Find Waldo Local brought a fun townwide scavenger hunt to Reading, while also helping to support the shop local movement. Reading businesses were happy to support the community to provide this fun activity. This year, The Chocolate Truffle donated a fabulous prize for the wrap up party raffle despite being unable to host a Waldo for the scavenger hunt! 

Logan DeFranco of Marathon Sports was thrilled to participate for the first time this year. "As a new business in Reading, the Find Waldo Local event was an amazing way to engage with the younger community and their families. We had a lot of fun hiding Waldo around our shop and giving shoe store-themed clues to the kids when they arrived to search for him! This program was a fantastic way to engage with the community as well as support local businesses in the area. We can't wait for next year!"

Prizes and raffles for winners of the Find Waldo Local Adventure. Photo provided by Whitelam Books.

Waldo was also found at Empower Cafe, where Nick Face expressed that his “favorite thing was the excitement and thrill to see people try to find Waldo. This great event helped bring our community together and support small businesses in town, and highlighted how special Reading is!” 

To celebrate a successful month of Waldo searching, Whitelam Books hosted a fun Waldo wrap up celebration at the end of July. Participants who turned in a passport displaying that they had discovered Waldo in 20 or more Reading stores were entered into a raffle, where they could win one of 45 fun prizes donated by the participating stores, while enjoying snacks and beverages that were also provided by the generous local businesses.

Whitelam Books was honored to be selected as one of 325 independent bookstores nationwide to host Candlewick Press and the American Booksellers Association’s Find Waldo Local event. Mark your calendars for Waldo’s return to Reading businesses again in July 2026!

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