Boy, 10, with leukemia to live dream of knighthood at Renaissance Festival

By Dylan Scott

Friday, Oct. 8, 2010 | 1:45 a.m.

Each fall for the past 17 years, the Las Vegas Renaissance Festival has transformed Sunset Park into a medieval kingdom. In the midst of the festivities this weekend, the Make-a-Wish Foundation plans to add a little magic for a sick 10-year-old boy.

Bobby, a leukemia patient from Mesquite, will be knighted and lead the forces of good in a battle pulled from “The Chronicles of Narnia,” with some help from the Kingdom of Coreathea, a group of local historical re-enactors, Saturday evening. Following the battle, a celebratory ball will be held in Bobby’s honor. His family asked the Sun to withhold his last name.

Norma, Bobby’s mother, said the idea came from the imagination of her son, who travels to Las Vegas for treatment. Bobby said watching the two movies based on C.S. Lewis’s novels “gave me dreams about me fighting as a knight.”

Sheri Xander, an organizer with the Kingdom of Coreathea, said the group jumped when Make-a-Wish contacted them about Bobby’s request. They solicited donations from the community and crafted masks and costumes for the performance. Bobby even added his own designs for his armor.

“We’re hoping to give him everything we can,” Xander said.

As the rest of the weekend will be filled with English feasts and jousting tournaments, Bobby’s battle was a natural addition to the annual festival, which runs Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Visitors can take in strolling minstrels, who will serenade guests throughout the weekend. Knights will engage in no-holds-barred gladiator battles. Attendees are invited to try their hand at hitting a target — with an ax — or to listen to one of the headlining bands: The Mahones, The Tossers, Seven Nations or Lexington Field.

More than 50 shows are scheduled at various locations throughout the park this weekend.

Beth Mullaney, a valley resident who will dance and sing with a group called Killigan’s Angels, said the festival “transports people to another world.”

“You can truly get away from it all,” said Mullaney, who came to Las Vegas in 1994 to perform in the Tournament of Kings at the Excalibur. “It is what you make it.”

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children and seniors; or $25 for an adult three-day pass or $10 for children and seniors. Box offices are located at the Sunset Administration Building and the Area F entrance.

The festival is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.