Hannah Dunaway’s one wish was to meet a princess, and on Saturday night she will become one.

Hannah, who turned 7 this February, is in the first-grade class of Marsha Bridgers at Beechwood Elementary.

She was asked to be queen of the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Greatest Ball on Earth!, where she will preside over ceremonies Saturday in Jackson.

The event will raise money to make wishes come true for sick children.

Because she has cystic hygroma, a sac-like structure that grows in the head and neck area, the Make-A-Wish Foundation asked Hannah last year what was the one thing she wanted.

She wished to meet Cinderella.

For Christmas, Hannah, her mother and her grandmother went to Disney World. There, they met Cinderella and Mickey and Minnie Mouse and a cast of other Disney characters, rode many rides and went to Mickey’s Toontown Fair and Sea World.

“My favorite ride was Space Mountain,” Hannah said Monday after a math test in Bridgers’ class.

“Hannah gets to go a lot of places,” said her friend Drew Ingram, also 7, who sits next to her.

Hannah, the daughter of Nicki Dunaway, said her favorite parts of school were math and going outside.

“Every kid likes going outside,” Drew pointed out.

Hannah must wear a tracheal tube and sometimes go to New York and Jackson for operations and medical procedures.

“She is such a delight to have in class,” Bridgers said.

Hannah has another wish: to one day be a nurse or a veterinarian.

“I like all animals, but a cat is my favorite,” she said.

Hannah has two cats, a Himalayan whose name is Nicholas and a calico whose name is Princess.

Hannah was the obvious choice to be the queen at the annual Wishmakers Ball, said Chris Kennedy, the foundation’s director of communications.

“She is full of hope and strength as well,” Kennedy said. “We have so many worthy children that come our way but she was an easy first choice.”

She will be joined at the ball by 6-year-old Cade Webb of Florence, who was chosen to be the king.

The event is the biggest fundraiser of the year for the Make-A-Wish Foundation’s Mississippi chapter. This year, Kennedy said, the foundation hopes to raise more than $115,000. Last year, the organization granted 76 wishes to sick children.

“Hannah will be presented as the Queen and the people that attend the ball will pay their respects to her,” Kennedy said.

If you goThe Greatest Ball on Earth! to raise money for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Mississippi will be at 8 p.m. Saturday at the Country Club of Jackson, 345 St. Andrews Drive. Tickets can be purchased in advance for $60 until Friday, or for $70 at the door.