my brother is a rebel officer
He and his wife attend 2 or 3 events a year. My mom was a little upset when she found out he was playing a grey. He and I were both born in Virginia, though raised and live most of our lives in the west. He actually has a reversible coat, so he can play either blue or gray. The reversible coat is because he is one of the few allowed to set off the black powder charges, reversing his coat to blue allows him to be in place to set the charge after he hears the cannons go off to create the effect of the impact.
Like any hobby he gets a big kick out of it. He just enjoys military history and being part of a club that does fun stuff together.