Armoured up for mental health battle royale

These local warriors are in training for a 12-hour battle at a local park. Swords, shields, arrows, lances ... they’re ready to give it their all. For a cause.

The members of Linnagond will donate their time and armoured energy to LARP For Mental Health, a new fundraiser for the Canadian Mental Health Association Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge set for March 18 at Kinsmen Park on Sherbrooke St. It will run from noon to 6 p.m., with the public invited to come and watch.

Members of the group will collect pledges and, in return, commit to a battle royale. With a dinner break, adds organizer Grace Crichton with a laugh.

The group wanted to give something back to Peterborough, she said, and decided to approach CMHA with the idea.

“I personally struggle with my own mental health,” she said. “I understand how hard it can be.”

She was there Wednesday at Victoaria Park, on Water St. in downtown Peterborough, with fellow organizer Kern Bayley-Hay and representatives of the local CMHA to talk about LARP For Mental Health with reporters as their friends did battle in the background for the cameras.

Kerri Davies, manager of development with CMHA in Peterborough, said she had to look up exactly what LARPing is when Crichton and Bayley-Hay approached her.

It stands for Live Action Role Playing, and originated in the 1970s as part of the growth of role-playing fantasy games. Players develop characters, usually around a medieval or fantasy theme, and gather to do mock battle with safe, padded swords, arrows and spears.

The local group, Linnagond, is a chapter of the international organization Amtgard. They gather each Saturday at Victoria Park to train, play and share.

Davies said she immediately realized that the group is a perfect fit for CMHA fundraising.

“We all know the impact of play and being part of a larger group,” she said.

Ryan Luscombe is a CMHA health educator who, as he pointed out, plays for a living – he runs the popular Kids on the Block puppet program, travelling to schools and helping children understand the importance of mental health awareness.

He said he was new to the idea of LARP but loved the concept, as he’s an avid board gamer and loves fantasy and role-playing.

What LARPers do is crucial to a mentally healthy community, he said. They have fun with imagination and welcome everyone and anyone.

“Play has been linked to high achievement,” he said. “Play has been lined to emotional intelligence.”

Crichton said the group attracts people who have struggled, people who then find support and comradeship when they need it.

“What I really love about this is the connection to recovery,” Luscombe said. “That’s a step toward recovery – try a new community.”

The event will also include crafting at St. Alphonsus Parish Hall – an opportunity to see how LARPers create the clothing, armour, chain mail and weapons they use in their games. Bayley-Hay, for example, was wearing intricate scaled chain mail at Wednesday’s event, while other members wore cloaks and armour.

Newcomers can take part if they’re 14 and older and sign a waiver on-site, Chrichton said.

NOTE: Grace Crichton can be reached at gracecrichton@trentu.ca.