The streets of Lima are filled with classic cars this weekend as the rebel run takes over the Allen County fairgrounds for the weekend. People come from all over the country to partake in the festivities bringing with them a considerable amount of money that goes into Allen County's economy. John Huffman has been coming to the show for more than 10 years and usually spends a couple hundred dollars.
John Huffman said " he spends most of his money at the hotel and at the fair grounds and of course the gas station, everybody has to buy gasoline so that puts a bite into everybody."
Hotels throughout Lima are booked to capacity nearly a year in advance thanks to events like the Rebel Run.
Carl Corntt from the Hampton Inn said "This brings in a lot of money, we look forward to our repeat guests that we have here. Their a good group of people and we look forward to that every year, not just the Rebel Run itself, but for all the events."
Hotels aren't the only industry to benefit from big events like the Rebel Run, local restaurants see a boom in business that trickles down to every employee.
Brian Claxton from Jay's restaurant said "It's wonderfully important, Lima is a small town so when we have events like this we get a big influx of people we have big nights and we are running around going crazy, but we absolutely love it when get big events."
This increase in business equates to nearly one million dollars in revenue for local businesses throughout the weekend. Rebel Run organizer Leroy Roby says when the show started 13 years ago he never imagined the show would grow as big as it has.
