Lisa Waite, BRVA Champion Resident Tell us a little bit about your story and why you chose to live in Broad Ripple. I describe myself as an Indy-thusiast – I have lived different places and just love Indianapolis for its accessibility, cost of living (great value in that you get a lot for very little money), and quality of life. I love our arts offerings, parks, and friendliness as a city. I work for the JCC, a non-profit that focuses on health and wellness for all ages, and I love that we have an early education center and afterschool programming and all kinds of sports leagues for kids as young as three. I also chair a non-profit called Volunteers of America of Indiana, which is taking the lead in addressing the opioid epidemic in the state. It’s important to me to live in a community; it’s not just a place to crash, it’s a home in a real neighborhood that’s diverse—we have young professionals, retirees and everything in between. How many years have you been located in Broad Ripple? My husband and I have lived in the Village for 14 years. We first lived in an apartment next to the Kroger which we loved. When we went house hunting, we looked downtown, but we only truly considered staying in Broad Ripple. We love the Monon, Broad Ripple Park, the Farmers Market, the Indianapolis Art Center—I’ve lived in Chicago and Los Angeles and I can’t believe that the coolest, most accessible art center is right here in our community! We used to grab coffee at Monon Coffee Company and sit on the Indianapolis Art Center’s deck on the White River and do our crossword. I love that you can just walk in and roam the halls and there’s always new art everywhere with the exhibitions changing about every other month or so. What is your favorite thing about the Village? How about place to eat? Shop? Go? Besides the Monon, Broad Ripple Park, and Indianapolis Art Center, we love Luciana’s, Taste of Havana, Garden Table, Chiang Mai, and the Cake Bake Shop. For shopping, we go to Weaver’s, Artifacts, and The Bungalow. A Broad Ripple Park program we like is Concerts in the Park—I wish more people went so it would continue because it’s very nice! What excites you about the future of Broad Ripple? I upped my donation to the Broad Ripple Village Association because I see it as a vote of confidence, like saying, Yes! Please continue your work! We love the downtown canal and would love to see the walk along our canal to be improved and have cafes. I’m excited about the development around it now, like The Coil. That, paired with the development across from Brugge, is all beefing up density which will help our community not only continue, but flourish. People attract businesses, and businesses help pay to maintain the community infrastructure. Can you share with us an experience you had with the Broad Ripple Village Association – an event, program, or interaction – that could help others understand the BRVA’s impact or mission? In terms of BRVA programs, besides the Broad Ripple Farmers Market, we love the Broad Ripple Canal Duck Race, the Taste of Broad Ripple, and the Broad Ripple Lights Up Festival and Parade. I participated in the Envision planning sessions, which took place between the BRVA, the city of Indianapolis, and partners. All the work and planning from those is all materializing! ———————————————————Want to join Lisa in supporting Broad Ripple Village? Join the BRVA!
