CLEARFIELD – FIREBALL RUN has selected Starr Hill Vineyard & Winery in Curwensville as a featured destination in the series’ 10th season, and local officials and community leaders welcomed the crew to Clearfield County at a press conference Thursday.
FIREBALL RUN is the story of 40-50 teams, as they compete in a legendary 2,000-mile, life-sized trivia game, explained J. Sanchez, the executive producer for the television series.
To win, he said contestants take the road less-traveled in an epic quest for America’s under-discovered places and obscure, historic artifacts. He said it is all while helping in a massive awareness campaign called The Race to Recover America’s Missing Children.
According to Sanchez, the series is streamed online in the United States and televised internationally. More specifically, he said it’s televised in India, Africa, Latin America and Europe, and it will air soon in Australia.
FIREBALL RUN, he said, is a 26-episode, adventure travel series, which educates and entertains viewers while inspiring travel. Each season, eight destinations are selected for series inclusion, based upon economic vitality, quality of life, uniqueness, story content and audience interest.
Different from a Reality TV series, FIREBALL RUN is factual entertainment, a genre of non-fiction depicting actual events and people. The 10th season is entitled FIREBALL RUN: Anniversary Edition and will feature several yet-to-be announced celebrity contestants, Sanchez said.
He said that cameras follow the real life journey of 40-50 teams in search of amazing places and artifacts. Contestants are highly driven to compete and win the game, and it’s all just for bragging rights; a greater cause – to find missing children; and a plastic road sign.
“FIREBALL RUN adventure travel series, which educates and entertains viewers while inspiring travel, is a fabulous way to not only showcase what Starr Hill Vineyard & Winery has to offer, but also to do our part to find America’s missing children,” said Kenn Richard Starr, co-founder of Starr Hill Vineyard & Winery.
“To have our destination be the only corporate stop chosen for the 10th anniversary race is an honor.”
Sanchez said that essentially, a trivia game at its core, FIREBALL RUN’s mission is nothing trivial: to find missing children. Through a partnership with Child Rescue Network, he said each team is assigned a missing child from their hometown and tasked with distributing posters along the eight-day route.
Since 2007, FIREBALL RUN’s awareness campaign has aided in the recovery of 47 missing children, he said.
“… The daily efforts to find missing children and the opportunity to promote Starr Hill and our sponsors in each city visited, along with the global marketing efforts of the series, are truly astonishing,” Starr said.
“We are extremely excited to be part of FIREBALL RUN’s 10th anniversary as a host destination in Curwensville, Pa.”
FIREBALL Run teams will visit three points of interest in Clearfield County. “But I can’t tell you what they are,” Sanchez said. He said teams would consist of celebrities, elected officials and major corporate leaders. “It was driven by Starr Hill; they brought it here.”
During the press conference, Commissioner Chairman John A. Sobel welcomed FIREBALL RUN to the county. He described the county as being no better place for a travel television series with it having the beautiful West Branch of the Susquehanna River flowing right through town, and it being completely surrounded by Mother Nature and all of its beauty.
Main Street Manager Loretta Wagner said it was an opportunity to grow community tourism and attract people to the niche retail stops, the well-known hunting and sporting goods stores and the home of one of the biggest burgers. “FIREBALL RUN consists of teams of business leaders, and we’ll have them right here in Clearfield County,” added Clearfield Mayor James Schell.
“It’s an opportunity to highlight Starr Hill and our county and to bring in some very influential business leaders,” said Commissioner Mark B. McCracken. He said it would also allow for an opportunity to showcase the Clearfield Industrial Park and the county’s access to Interstate 80.
Commissioner Tony Scotto concurred, noting that the county has an ideal central location and lots of resources. However, he called attention back to the true cause behind the television series when he said, “It’s about finding missing kids. Let’s find this child.”
The father-son Starr Hill team has been tasked to help find Jadon Jerry, (click name to download flyer) a young African-American boy from Pittsburgh. He was last seen Feb. 5; he weighs 60 pounds and is 4 feet tall. “It’s a vanish case, which is rare,” Sanchez said. “There are only 2,500 in the nation. It’s unclear who took him, and it doesn’t appear to be a custodial abduction.”
The live competition takes place from Sept. 23 to Oct. 1. Pennsylvanians are invited to attend the festivities on Sept. 25 and also the green flag send-off at 9 a.m. Sept. 26 in downtown Clearfield, Sanchez said.
He added that spectators are welcomed to meet the celebrity teams and take pictures with the millions of dollars of exotic vehicles. Red carpet events are also streamed live on FireballRun.com.
“We have been a corporate sponsor with the FIREBALL RUN for five years, and this year will be our first time participating as a father-and-son team. Not only do we plan on winning the race to recover our missing child, but also we want to give our area international exposure,” said co-founder Kenn Robert Starr Sr.
FIREBALL RUN kicks off in western New York and finishes in Amesbury, Mass. The featured destinations include: Starr Hill Vineyard & Winery in Pennsylvania; Allegany County in Maryland; Lebanon Valley in Pennsylvania; Dutchess County in New York; and southern Saratoga County, New York.
For more information and to view past episodes, visit FireballRun.com.
