[Mike Dempsey]

The International Harvester Red Power Round Up is coming to the Laporte County Fairgrounds this month. The IH Red Power Round Up is the annual summer reunion and show for members of International Harvester World Wide. Exhibits come from all over the world.
The Michigan City Exchange Club will be one of 13 vendors selling ice, food and beverages. The show, which will be held June 23rd thru June 26th at the fairgrounds, is held in a different state each year and this will be the first time the show will have been held in Indiana.
Larry Levendowski, President of the IH Red Power Round Up, says that as many as 56,000 people have been in attendance in the past and as much as $15 million dollars has been pumped into local economies because of the show.
Already, 1800 rooms are booked in Laporte County, 200 campers are scheduled for placement on the fairgrounds and adjacent counties are reporting that their hotel and motel rooms are being reserved for that week. This is the 20th anniversary of the event and people from other countries including Canada, Australia and many European nations will be attending. The Michigan City Exchange Club and the Exchangettes are organizing their club members to work the four day show.

[Ang]

http://www.heraldargus.com/articles/2010/0...32045605459.txt

20K people expected for Red Power Round Up


By Bridget Flynn
Published: Friday, June 18, 2010 10:17 AM CDT
Staff writer

1-866-362-2167 ext.13870

bflynn@heraldargus.com

LA PORTE — The Red Power Round Up is anticipated to paint the town green as members of the La Porte County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau say the event will bring revenue into the county — even some surrounding counties.

According to estimates from Certex, a company based in Louisville, Kentucky, that the bureau hired to make projections, the event is expected to bring in about $6.7 million to the county.

Jack Arnett, executive director of the La Porte County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said every hotel room and campground in the county is already booked for the four-day event, and he said he is positive the event is the reason.

“It’s like dropping a whole other city on the city of La Porte,” he said, adding that he anticipates at least 20,000 people to come to the city for the event. “The impact is going to be huge.”

Arnett added that attendances at the last two RPRUs have been much more than that. Attendees are expected to spend $97 per day per person. About 70 percent of the visitors are expected to be adults, bringing children with them.

“When folks bring families into town there’s all kinds of things they’re going to do,” he said.

Arnett said the event will financially benefit restaurants, bars, hotels campgrounds, gas stations and mini marts.

The LPCCVB is working with people when they book their rooms, letting them know what services and attractions the county has to offer, Arnett said. The bureau will also provide a shuttle that will take visitors to and from various locations, he said.

Despite being founded 20 years ago in Indiana, the International Harvester Collector’s Club has never held its annual tractor show within the confines of the state until this year. The event will be held this June at the La Porte County Fairgrounds. Opening ceremonies will begin on Wednesday at 3 p.m. The event will last until June 26.

Event Chairman Larry Levendowski, who is the vice-president of the IHCC Northern Indiana Chapter 33, said he expects people to come from as far away as Australia, England and Canada. About 2,000 to 2,500 exhibitors are expected to be at the event.

The IHCC was organized to keep and disperse knowledge about the old fashioned methods of agriculture and the history of International Harvester. The show is expected to consist of anything from International Harvesters: a manufacturer of appliances, trucks, farm equipment, rifles and other products from 1902 to 1985. The RPRU will also feature live performances, bands, craft shows, activities for kids, old fashioned plowing demonstrations, corn grinding, weed thrashing, flour making, a quilting contest and children’s pedal pulling.

For more information and a day-to-day schedule of events, go to the local chapter’s website at www.ihcc33.org. Exhibitors interested in bringing their equipment can contact Levendowski at (219) 362-5064.