Soon, the streets of Boston will be invaded with red and white stripes as the Where’s Waldo Bar Crawl hops through the Hub. The Crawl in Boston event takes place this Saturday, January 11, and as usual, Waldo and Wanda costumes will be mandatory.

The themed bar crawl, in which participants drink, hop and “crawl” through Faneuil Hall-area bars, will be the first event of 2014 for Crawl in Boston. And given that the social networking group recently sold out both their Halloween and 12 Bars of X-mas pub crawls, this Where’s Waldo event will be no exception. Only a few last call tickets remain and can be purchased here.

Started in 2003, Crawl in Boston has grown in popularity, hosting a multitude of bar crawls ranging from 200 to 2,000 people. Here, the organization’s founder, Jay Johnston, shares with BostInno a few tidbits about the organization and his own Boston bar recommendations for 2014.

Marian White: Why did you decide to start Crawl in Boston?

Jay Johnston: It started off as a very small thing, just something to do with my friends. As social media grew, so did the crawls, and it turned into an actual business. It went from about a dozen people to hundreds.

MW: What was the very first bar crawl you ever organized?

JJ: The first “official” crawl was probably the Davis Square Bar Crawl. That was back before we had themes for each event. Our first themed event was Halloween.

MW: What 5 bars in Boston would you recommend that our readers check out in 2014?

JJ: Warehouse is a new bar on Broad Street that is a great space and fun menu. You can’t find Gator Bites in many places.

Harborside Lounge is also new and has a fun vibe.

Wild Rover is a great spot for dancing.

Hennessy’s is great for live music.

And for a really great version of the classic Boston Irish pub, check out Barney Fanning’s – the staff is one of the nicest in the city.

MW: Which Crawl in Boston event is your personal favorite and why?

JJ: The Pirate Crawl is my favorite, because one of the stops is a Harbor tour boat cruise. People get really excited for the event and have great costumes, and the boat is a big dance party.

MW: What is something that our readers might not know about Crawl in Boston?

JJ: Every crawl raises money for a different local Boston children’s charity. I think it’s really important to give back to the community.

Check out pictures below of 2012’s Where’s Waldo bar crawl event