Flags, fundraising and vans filled with contributions mark extraordinary campaign of support. Every business in West Stockbridge contributed.

Even though there’s a street in West Stockbridge called Moscow Road, residents of the town, including the principal inhabitant of that road, have come out generously and visibly in support of Ukraine.

Just walk through town, and you’ll see Ukrainian flags flying on flagpoles and filling windows.  How did they get there? An anonymous resident of West Stockbridge bought 30 of them from Flagman of America in Avon, Conn., and gave them out to friends and neighbors to encourage donations to pro-Ukraine groups. Apparently, the flags were so welcome that more were ordered.

Now back to that inhabitant of Moscow Road—it is TurnPark Art Space, a non-profit sculpture park created by a Russian couple named Igor Gomberg and Katya Brezgunova who apparently searched far and wide for the right place to house their sculpture collection and found it in West Stockbridge on the grounds of an old marble quarry on Moscow Road. Their establishment, with its indoor and outdoor exhibitions and programming, has become a major attraction for locals and visitors alike.  Meanwhile, many of us have long been amused by its location on that appropriately named street.

It turns out, however, that they are not completely Russian. While Katya is from Moscow, Igor’s family is from Kyiv, and they both have friends and family in Ukraine. As the flags were going up around town, Igor and his team at TurnPark were also springing into action.  He located a Ukrainian shipping company, Nova Poshta, that was distributing humanitarian aid free of charge to Ukrainian charitable organizations and freedom fighters and set about collecting much needed provisions to send to his war-torn native land.

On February 24, Brezgunova, in her position as TurnPark’s president, issued the following statement: “Here at TurnPark our hearts are tearing apart at the news of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. This tragedy is too close to home for both park founders as Igor’s family is from Kiev, Ukraine and Katya’s is from Moscow, Russia. This insanity must be stopped. There should be no war, no borders. We all live on one Earth. TurnPark is a growing community of American, Russian, Ukrainian, Georgian, Estonian, Israeli, Iranian, Austrian artists and hopefully, in the future, artists from many other parts of the world. Together, we are taking part in providing aid to the people of Ukraine.”

By the end of March, two overstuffed U-Hauls were ready to be driven down to Nova Poshta’s warehouse in New Jersey.  According to Jared Gelormino, TurnPark’s Site Manager, every business in West Stockbridge contributed items.  Fairview Hospital and Berkshire Medical Center donated medical supplies, including laceration trays.  Contributions included food, toiletries and clothing (only new clothing accepted).

Efforts to help the Ukrainian people will continue at TurnPark’s June 11 summer festival where they will be selling Ukrainian-designed merchandise to raise relief funds.

The people of West Stockbridge have been so generous, says Gelormino.  People kept saying, “We didn’t know what to do. You gave us a way to help.” This has been a true community partnership.

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