Happy Anniversary to Us! It’s hard to believe we have just entered our 5th year in business as a Toronto Event/Wedding Planning and Entertainment Company. We have had the pleasure of planning and entertaining for so many incredible events the last 5 years that we thought we would pay homage to the man that started it all.
Meet ArthurK:
Although today we know him as a planner and producer of lavish, awe-inspiring events, Arthur Kerekes’ began his professional career as a musician. Raised in a very musical family, Arthur’s father played the violin and his mother the flute. Arthur’s fondest childhood memories consist of family gatherings ’round the record player, the tune of great classics ringing through his ears. Arthur began to study the saxophone when he was just nine years old. It wasn’t long before he had his first taste of band life and ignited his passion for live performance when he brought together a group of peers to play “Tequila” at the school talent show in grade five. Classically trained under the wing of the well-known Canadian saxophonist, Paul Brodie, Arthur quickly advanced his skills.
In high school, Arthur discovered funk, R&B and jazz. His musical voice underwent a unique transformation as he began to guest play with several local jazz bands. At 17, he and a few friends started their own band, by the name of God Made Me Funky. Before long, God Made Me Funky was fully booked playing at popular live music venues in Toronto, as well as private functions including weddings, personal parties and corporate events. In 2005, the band produced their very first original album, which was followed by a new album each year thereafter, of which their 2008 release was nominated for a Juno Award. Over the years, God Made Me Funky flourished as a modern day funk and soul band and has had the opportunity to tour the country, play at various jazz festivals across Canada and the United States, make appearances on Entertainment Tonight, Breakfast Television, etalk and Much Music, and perform at high profile corporate events for Nike, Ontario Tourism and Fidelity Investments.
As time went on, Arthur naturally adopted the role of Band Booking Manager. In this position he began to form relationships with vendors, event planners, venue owners, photographers and entertainers. As his industry presence grew, Arthur received an increasing number of requests not only for his own band to perform at various events, but also for other entertainment bookings. In 2008, he formalized his role within the event planning industry and launched Fusion Events. At first, the company was primarily an entertainment agency representing bands, musicians and a wide range of performers including dancers, aerialists and contortionists. Fusion Events quickly became renowned in the industry after facilitating high-scale entertainment events for MasterCard, Microsoft, The Food Network, Astral Media and extraordinary weddings, a countless number of which have been featured in various magazines and media outlets. Arthur’s gift for entertainment management and live performance naturally evolved into an additional, value-added service for Fusion Events: wedding and event planning.
ArthurK with Bride and Groom
Phasing into yet another period of personal and professional growth, in 2010 Arthur became a Certified Wedding Planner with the Wedding Planners Institute of Canada (WPIC). Within just one month of his certification, he landed his first wedding planning contract. Specializing in trendy, high-scale, extravagant weddings, Arthur is able to offer his clients much more than the average planner. By combining his many talents in music, entertainment, production and planning, Arthur is changing the face of wedding planning in Toronto. An urban wedding planner with a modern, forward-thinking approach, Arthur is focused on the growth of the industry. Over the last three years, he has hired and trained five other Certified Wedding Planners who have joined his team at Fusion Events. Arthur is actively involved with the WPIC, sponsoring major events and participating in various networking activities hosted by the association. He is a wedding planner who believes strongly in industry involvement and personally operates a mentoring program through Fusion Events. He gives up-and-coming event planners a new and unique experience in the industry, enabling them to learn not only about the planning side, but also about the entertainment, music, lighting, sound and production aspects that go into the execution of a successful, one-of-a-kind, groundbreaking event.
As Fusion Events continues to advance, Arthur Kerekes makes his mark as a visionary, artistic and dedicated figure, both as an event planner to his clients and as an inspiring leader to his team members.
