Broad Ripple residents, business owners, community partners and supporters gathered at the Indianapolis Art Center on November 4, 2026 for the Broad Ripple Village Association’s 2026 Annual Meeting — an evening focused both on celebrating the progress of the past year and looking ahead to the work still to come.
We’re grateful to the Indianapolis Art Center for hosting the evening, to Wechter Media for sponsoring the reception food, and to MADabolic for sponsoring drinks.
A consistent theme throughout the evening was capacity: building a stronger Village Association that can connect people, bring resources into the neighborhood, respond when needs arise and help move community priorities forward.
A Year of Growth
At the beginning of 2026, BRVA identified four primary priorities: telling a strong, positive story about Broad Ripple; growing our community of members; doing the work needed to bring the summer Broad Ripple Farmers Market home; and strengthening BRVA’s long-term capacity and sustainability.
We made meaningful progress on each.
BRVA hosted eight neighborhood meetups throughout the Village, celebrated our most successful Duck Race yet, welcomed 22 new or soon-to-open businesses, and continued expanding the reach of Broad Ripple communications. Today, Broad Ripple Indy has nearly 60,000 combined followers on Facebook and Instagram, while our biweekly email newsletter reaches nearly 6,000 people.
Our membership community also continued to grow. BRVA began the year with 448 paying members and reached 543 by the Annual Meeting — a 21% net increase. We welcomed 114 new members during the year, and more members are choosing to invest beyond the standard dues level as well. One in five new members this year chose to make an additional contribution to support the Village Association.
And one of the announcements we were especially excited to make: the summer Broad Ripple Farmers Market is coming home to Broad Ripple in 2027. A dedicated task force has spent the year evaluating potential locations and working with the City, nearby businesses and other stakeholders. A final location is expected to be announced by early 2027.
Building Capacity to Invest Back Into Broad Ripple
BRVA also continued strengthening its financial position in 2026.
Membership dues are up 21% compared with the same point last year, sponsorship and corporate support have nearly doubled, and the number of members giving above the standard dues level grew by 57%. BRVA also received a $100,000 Cultural District grant from the City of Indianapolis supporting new festival lighting on Broad Ripple Avenue, direct payments to musicians and artists participating in Third Thursdays, and temporary holiday storefront art installations.
Financially, the BRVA is in a healthy operating position. While BRVA remains a small nonprofit organization, unrestricted operating cash has more than doubled from the same point in 2025. These resources are not an end in themselves. They allow BRVA to invest back into the Village — including over $30,000 each year in landscaping, mowing, public-space lighting and beautification, in addition to substantial volunteer and in-kind support from community partners.
That growing capacity also mattered when flooding struck in August. BRVA helped connect affected businesses and neighboring communities with City agencies and support organizations and, thanks to the generosity of the community and partners including Forty5 and The Vogue, distributed nearly $45,000 in flood relief. During the Annual Meeting, BRVA presented a portion of those funds to the Indianapolis Art Center in support of its recovery.
Public Safety: “Broad Ripple Is Safe”
Commander Corey Mims, the new commander of IMPD’s North District, introduced himself to the community and shared extensive data on crime trends in both Broad Ripple and the North District as a whole.
His message was clear: “Broad Ripple is safe.”
Commander Mims shared data showing a consistent decline in criminal activity over the past five years while also reminding residents and visitors that basic public-safety practices still matter — including locking vehicles and avoiding leaving valuables visible inside them.
Community members who want to explore the data themselves can visit the IMPD Transparency portal at impdtransparency.indy.gov.
From Planning to Progress
Turae Dabney of Indy Economic Development provided an update on the Broad Ripple Consolidated Development Plan and what comes next as the work moves from planning into implementation. She also recognized the leadership of Bo Boroski, Mike Cole and Billy Ficca through Friends of Broad Ripple Village, whose advocacy helped launch the planning effort and bring partners together around the work.
The final Consolidated Development Plan report is expected to be publicly available through this website (BroadRippleIndy.org) by the end of the year.
Turae also shared several early wins already emerging from the planning process. Those include a number of LISC façade grants awarded to Broad Ripple businesses after BRVA helped connect local businesses with the program; initial conversations with a funder about potential canal improvements, as recommended in the plan; and early conversations with Groundfloor Indy about connecting small-business incubation efforts with available commercial spaces in Broad Ripple.
Perhaps most significantly, the City of Indianapolis has made a concrete commitment to remain engaged during implementation. At the direction of Mayor Joe Hogsett, the City has committed to working with BRVA to advance the 2026 Broad Ripple Development Plan by:
- staffing each of the four anticipated implementation working groups with at least one City employee for 12 months during 2027;
- designating a City employee to serve as BRVA’s primary point of contact for the plan;
- assigning employees with subject-matter expertise and appropriate decision-making authority to the working groups; and
- helping identify barriers and develop solutions as implementation moves forward.
Depending on the workgroup, participating staff may come from departments including the Mayor’s Office, Indy Parks, Department of Public Works, Department of Business and Neighborhood Services, and Department of Metropolitan Development. BRVA will serve as the local convener for this next phase, bringing together City staff, community partners and other stakeholders to begin advancing specific recommendations from the plan.
A New Framework for Public Art
The Annual Meeting also marked the first public presentation of Broad Ripple’s new Public Art Plan.
Julia Muney Moore of the Indy Arts Council shared the plan, developed through months of research and community engagement with residents, businesses, artists and community partners. The planning process was made possible through support from the Birge Family Foundation and the Penrod Society.
The plan provides more than a list of potential projects. It creates a framework for how Broad Ripple can make thoughtful decisions about public art, engage the community, support artists and steward projects over time. You can learn more about the planning process, review the current plan materials, join the email list for updates and explore the growing inventory of public artwork throughout Broad Ripple at BroadRippleIndy.org/artplan.
BRVA is already beginning to move from planning into action. One recommendation is to complete murals on Broad Ripple’s six remaining unpainted traffic signal boxes. BRVA has launched the Finish the Six crowdfunding campaign, with an opportunity to unlock additional matching support based on the number of unique online contributors.
Shawn Mullholland of the Penrod Society also spoke briefly about Penrod’s commitment to continuing its partnership with BRVA as we begin putting the plan into action and pursuing new public art opportunities in Broad Ripple.
Other public art projects and partnerships are already beginning to take shape for 2027, and BRVA welcomes businesses, foundations, organizations and community partners interested in helping bring recommendations from the plan to life.
Celebrating the People and Places That Make Broad Ripple Special
The evening included the presentation of the inaugural Broad Ripple Art & Place Award, created to recognize public art, gardens, landscaping and other creative projects that contribute to the beauty and character of the Village. More than 200 community votes were cast among four finalists, with Hotel Broad Ripple selected as the 2026 recipient.
Throughout the evening, we also recognized the Board and committee members, volunteers, sponsors, businesses, organizations and community partners whose time, expertise and financial support make BRVA’s work possible — including BRVA members who choose to give above the standard membership level and make an additional investment in the work of the Village Association.
Broad Ripple’s progress is never the work of one organization or one group of people. It happens because many people choose to invest their time, ideas, resources and energy in this place.
Members Elect 2027 Board Slate
BRVA members also elected six members to the Board of Directors during the Annual Meeting. Under BRVA’s bylaws, members voted on the proposed slate as a whole, with voting available both in advance and by written ballot at the meeting.
All six members of the slate were elected:
- Kristen Alderson
- Anthony Bellamy
- Ben Houle
- Casey Keller
- Samuel Rogers
- Tonia Thompson
Anthony Bellamy and Sam Rogers will continue their current service on the Board, while Kristen Alderson, Ben Houle, Casey Keller and Tonia Thompson join the Board for the new term. We are grateful to each of them for their willingness to serve Broad Ripple and look forward to the perspectives and experience they will bring to the work ahead.
BRVA also recognized outgoing Board member Rich Michal for three years of service, including his contributions to the Finance, Governance, and Land Use & Development committees.
Looking Ahead
There is plenty still ahead.
Before the year ends, Broad Ripple will welcome thousands of visitors for the Drumstick Dash on Thanksgiving morning, celebrate Small Business Saturday on November 28 and gather for an expanded Broad Ripple Lights Up Festival & Parade on December 6.
Then, in 2027, work will continue on implementation of the Consolidated Development Plan and Public Art Plan, the summer Farmers Market will return to Broad Ripple, and BRVA will continue building ways for more residents, businesses and community partners to get involved.
Our first neighborhood meetup of the new year will be January 6 from 5–7 p.m. at Indy CD & Vinyl. We hope you’ll join us.
Finally, attendees were invited to complete this form to share their ideas, skills, resources, or areas of interest they’d like to contribute to the Village. There’s still time to complete the form — we want to hear from you! This work takes all of us, so share some of the ways you’d like to help shape the work ahead.
Thank you to everyone who helped make 2026 a year of meaningful progress in Broad Ripple. We’re excited about what’s ahead — and grateful to be doing it together.
