On Friday, the Bay Area Make-A-Wish foundation will make 5-year-old Leukemia patient Miles' dream come true by turning San Francisco into Gotham City for a day and calling on Miles — or as you might know him: Batkid — to rid the town of evildoers. For a day, we can forget about rising rents, IPOs, hipsters and moving to the East Bay, and we can slip off our cynicism because we all get to be five years old again thanks to Miles, a kid who just wants to be Batman for a day.
As if this story couldn't get more heartwarming, an outpouring of support for Miles has occurred since our first report. The Bat Kid Photo Project facebook page has people sending in supportive selfies from Manhattan to Portland. A call for people to take part in a "Don't Stop Believin'" flashmob on Union Square received 10,000 RSVPs, making even the most jaded among us feel like we could be OK with a flashmob for a day. A PR firm has created a twitter account for Batkid's nemesis, The Penguin:
Looks like @KarlTheFog has returned just in time for the BIG day tomorrow. Wahh wahhh wahhh!! #SFBatKid
— The Penguin (@PenguinSF) November 14, 2013
Legendary 49ers quarterback Joe Montana, a man who always seemed like a super hero in our eyes, at least until we grew up and he became just some developer in San Jose, will even be in Union Square tomorrow to make an appearance:
Make Miles' wish special by cheering him on this Friday as he transforms into #SFBatkid RT to share his story http://t.co/OMvvZZdaCZ
— Joseph Montana (@JoeMontana) November 12, 2013
A retired schoolteacher from Akron, Ohio even told the foundation that she and her husband bought tickets to San Francisco as soon as they heard about it.
For those of following along at home the schedule has changed slightly: The hero will ride the Batmobile out of the Grand Hyatt garage (Batcave) around 10:30 a.m. tomorrow morning, he'll rescue a damsel in distress tied to the cable car tracks and then stop a bank robbery on at 550 Montgomery before heading to Burger Bar for a hero's burger lunch. While having lunch around 12:45 p.m. the estimated 10,000-person flashmob will alert Batkid that the Penguin is kidnapping Lou Seal on Union Square Plaza below. After chasing the Penguin to AT&T Park, he'll head back to City Hall to be honored by the Mayor and Police Chief at 2 p.m.
We expect a few of the local news stations will be broadcasting live tomorrow and there's an official #sfbatkid hashtag.
Previously: Here's How You Can Help Make 5-Year-Old Miles' Wish Come True
Make-A-Wish Foundation Will Transform S.F. Into Gotham City For Adorable Batman-Themed Wish