BENTONVILLE -- "The Fireball Run" participants will arrive this afternoon, and organizers of the Internet-based entertainment series encourage the public welcome them.
The 40, two-member teams will start arriving on the downtown square at 3 p.m. There, they will be given their missions to complete in Bentonville, said Blair Cromwell, Convention and Visitors Bureau vice president of communications.
At A Glance (w/logo)
The Fireball Run
The Fireball run is an eight-day, 2,000-mile, life-size trivia game, where America serves as the game board. Organizers say it’s part live event, part streamed and part episodic series. Officials say, unlike a reality show, this competition is real. Forty teams compete for bragging rights, a greater cause and a plastic road sign.
Source: Fireballrun.com
J. Sanchez, executive producer, described "The Fireball Run" as a more-cerebral version of CBS' "The Amazing Race." The teams play on a life-size version of Trivial Pursuit where America is the game board, he said this spring when it was announced that Bentonville would be showcased in season eight.
The teams are in the process of traveling through eight cities in eight days. They started in Frisco, Texas, on Sept. 27 and will end in Independence, Mo., on Oct. 8.
Today's festivities downtown will include music and an emcee. There will be a red carpet the cars will drive over as they come into the square, Cromwell said.
"It'll be a festival-type atmosphere," she said. "We're welcoming the teams."
Gan Nunnally and Kevin Yingst represent Bentonville on team George Nunnally Chevy. The team was in fifth place Tuesday, said Nunnally while on a mission in Enid, Okla.
The most challenging part of the race has been to decipher the messages outlining the missions, he said. Teams are given clues on cards about the tasks they are required to complete.
"We can't plan the day out most of the time," he said. "It makes for a good adventure."
Not all the teams get the same missions each day, Nunnally said. There are A, B and C missions, and teams try to communicate with each other to see who is doing the same tasks.
"Sometimes they help you, sometimes they don't," he said.
Nunnally said he and Yingst should have an advantage today being in Bentonville, but he also expects them to be assigned the more difficult missions.
"We'll get to recharge," he said. "We'll be in our hometown."
The teams are competing for bragging rights, a plastic road sign and a greater cause. Competitors are distributing fliers of missing children as they travel in hopes that the public can assist authorities in their recovery.
Each team is assigned a missing child from their hometown region. Nunnally and Yingst represent Alexa Galdamez of Springdale. She was last seen Aug. 26, 2010, and is 6 years old, according to the flier being distributed.
"The Fireball Run" has assisted in finding 43 missing children since the show's first year in 2007, according to Sanchez.
Teams will distribute fliers on the square today.
The public is also invited to see the teams leave Bentonville on Thursday morning. Cars will line up on the square at 7:30 a.m., and filming will begin at 8 a.m.
Livestreaming of the event can be seen at www.fireballrun.com/live/stream. Season eight will premier in June 2015.
The public can vote for teams at www.fireballrun.com/teamprofile. The team with the most votes receives a people's choice award in the form of a plastic road sign, Nunnully said. Votes can also help in daily activities and challenges, he added.
"The Fireball Run" series can be seen on Roku, GoogleTV, AmazonFireTV and Smart TV on the Adeys TV Channel. All seasons and episodes can also be viewed on YouTube and iTunes, according to a news release.
NW News on 10/01/2014