Rosenberger shies away from talking about the cash involved in getting celebrities on board for the festival. We play it by ear every year. Some have local sponsors. Some come on a sponsorship from someone who's sponsoring an event that didn't originally include a celebrity. Firefighters' celebrities are chosen in the same manner as other festival guests, according to Billy Snapp of Stephens City, director of firefighters' activities for the festival.
Travel expenses vary from person to person.
Some of the Nashville people actually drive up. They know it's going to be a really beautiful time of year, and they want to see the Shenandoah Valley. Getting people in from the West Coast is often another matter. They're not going to fly in on the redeye. Some sports celebrities, such as football players, wouldn't even stand a chance of fitting into the cattle-car seats and can only fly first class, Rosenberger added.