Name: Mario Jukica, left, Eve Fiorillo and Craig Pettigrew
Occupation: Music Curators/Promoters
Mario Jukica, Eve Fiorillo and Craig Pettigrew are just three figures from a tour de force team recruited to rev things up at CiRCA, the long-awaited four-floor, 55,000 square-foot, 3,000 capacity mega-entertainment complex that aims to parlay Toronto into the partying stratosphere of New York, London and Ibiza.
More than just club promoters, Jukica and Fiorillo of A.D/D. Events will act as music curators, devising artistic concepts, roping in talent, and directing music for CiRCA’s thematically-flavoured Friday nights dubbed Randomland.
Meanwhile Pettigrew, who is from GEM Events, will be responsible for the venue’s electronica-charged Saturday nights entitled Traffic. Top DJs like Tiësto and David Guetta will likely be on the bill faster than you can say trance and house. Weekdays, the venue will play host to a myriad of entertainment, cultural and corporate events.
At the centre of CiRCA is nightlife luminary Peter Gatien. The Cornwall, Ont. native was crowned the “King of Clubs” after spearheading such venues as New York’s Limelight, Palladium, Club USA and Tunnel.
“CiRCA is not about a big sound system and a lot of lights,” explains Gatien. “We’re raising the bar and creating a world class space, an institution that fuses music, cinema, fashion, art, design and architecture.”
Patrons can expect to be bombarded with sensory overload. Revolving art installations will be erected every few weeks to keep the venue fresh. For this fall, award-winning artist Kenny Baird has whipped up a fetish-themed foyer with illuminated erotic portraits by Bruce LaBruce.
Multiple event hosting is made possible thanks to a labyrinth of VIP booths and bars like the illuminate-by-touch Sensacell bar and the uber chic Skyy Vodka cinema lounge. For $6.3 million, the complex also boasts a catering kitchen, an in-house costume department headed by John Walke and a playful Kidrobot Room courtesy of Paul Budnitz. A recording studio is also in the pipeline.
CiRCA is located at 126 John St. A private red carpet affair kicks off its four-day long launch this Thursday. The public can access CiRCA Friday and Saturday night at the door for $15 and $20 respectively. Advance tickets for Transform, the Sunday night event with DJs Mark Farina and Victor Calderone, are available for $25 at wantickets.com.
An award-winning and multi-faceted media personality, Lawrence’s career spans journalism, television (hosting, acting, producing) and public relations (event management, publicity). Log onto lawrence-chau.com for more buzz.
