Common Man teams up with bride and groom to offer Ferris wheel rides to support children in Ukraine

PLYMOUTH — A betrothed couple and Alex Ray, owner of the Common Man family of restaurants, are teaming up to offer Ferris wheel full this weekend, to celebrate a wedding and to raise money for Ukraine.

The couple to be married belongs to a family who organizes carnivals, and is bringing a Ferris wheel to their wedding reception to entertain their guests at The Barn on the Pemi on Saturday. The Ferris wheel will still be onsite Sunday morning, and Common Man for Ukraine will use it to host a fundraiser.

The Ferris wheel is owned and operated by Cushing Amusements from Wilmington, Massachusetts. The couple expects about 300 people will be in attendance at the wedding.

Visitors can take a ride on the wheel between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday morning. Before or after taking a ride, visitors can snack on donuts, hot chocolate, coffee and cider — all for free — and donate to support children affected by the war in Ukraine, if they are so inclined. Rides will be free and donations are encouraged but not required.

“I was shocked because [the wheel is] so big,” Ray said Thursday.

The groom offered Ray use of the Ferris wheel for a couple of hours on Sunday before he knocks it down and ships it back to Massachusetts, which Ray saw as the perfect opportunity to offer a fun outing for local families and to raise awareness and funds for his cause — supporting children in dire straits in Ukraine. 

“I said, ‘Hey, can we open it to the public?,'” Ray said. “We’ve got announcements out all over the place — it’s free.”

Ray’s cause, Common Man for Ukraine, works hand-in-hand with connections in Zamosc, Poland, to collect money and ship food into war-torn Ukraine. The partners there visit schools and identify young children who have lost family members to the war, then bring them to an all expenses paid camp for a month, where they are afforded psychological and medical care. 

“It will be fun, [the Ferris wheel is] taller than our barn,” Ray said.

His charity organization began working to support Ukrainian children two years ago — now he and a small handful of associates make trips to Poland and across the border into Ukraine every few weeks. He’s returning there on April 15.

He’s a member of the Plymouth Rotary Club and coordinates his efforts with a Rotary faction in Poland to provide the essential services and to get food into Ukraine.

His trip later this month will mark the 10th time he’s gone into Ukraine to provide relief. So far they’ve raised $3.5 million from 3,000 unique donors.

Funds raised by the Plymouth Rotary and Common Man for Ukraine are distributed through Granite State United Way to their partners in Poland. 

“We go every 2.5 months,” he said. “There’s four of us guys who are doing the whole thing.”

The organization has provided over 900 tons of food, 10,000 sleeping bags, over 100 electricity generators and trauma counseling to children in need.