FUSION360° Wins ACE Award for Catered Micro Event of the Year 2026
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Meredith Events is thrilled to share that Vibrant Occasions Catering has won the 2026 ACE Award for Catered Micro Event of the Year for FUSION360°, an immersive culinary experience produced and creative-directed by Meredith Events. The award was announced this past March at Catersource + The Special Event in Los Angeles, after FUSION360° was named a finalist in January and went on to win in its category.
The recognition means a great deal to us because FUSION360° is exactly what an intimate event can become when every piece is built around one idea. Fifteen guests. Five cultures. Food, wine, florals, music, lighting, and storytelling all working together as parts of the same evening.
The win was followed by a 22-image editorial feature from Cater+Event, which walked readers through the concept, the menu, and the design behind the night.
Before the polished frames, a few candid snapshots from that night, styled like the keepsakes you'd want to tuck in a drawer and smile at years later.
Captured and styled by @kaypxoedit.
An Immersive Culinary Journey
FUSION360° was an intimate dinner that walked 15 hand-picked tastemakers through international fusion cuisine, with each course pulling from a different country's traditions and blending them with American flavors. We held it at Rusty Tractor Vineyards, and the whole idea was simple: show how different cultures can come together and make something new without losing what makes each one special. As an event producer based in Arkansas, this is the sort of creative direction I love sinking my teeth into, and it happens to travel well anywhere.
The food and wine pairings caught Hunter Magazine's eye, too. They ran the full lineup in print, each dish beside its wine. A little inspiration for your own table below.
The Menu
The culinary artistry of Vibrant Occasions Catering took center stage, with Chef Serge Krikorian crafting a Global Harmony Collection that told stories of cultural connection. Each dish name was carefully chosen to represent the journey of flavors across continents, showcasing Chef Serge's masterful ability to blend international techniques with Southern hospitality.
Welcome Bites
East Meets West Pork Belly: crispy pork belly over sushi rice with Asian slaw
Bayou Wanderer Taco: Cajun shrimp taco with lime slaw
Mediterranean Embrace Dates: bacon-wrapped dates stuffed with Chèvre
Global Harmony Collection
Italian-American: Southern Serenade Caprese with sweet Georgia peaches, heirloom tomatoes, and creamy burrata
Lebanese-American: Beirut Sunset Trout with Arabian chimichurri and tahini sauce
Indian-American: Spice Route Pot Pie with creamy curried chicken filling
Turkish-American: Ottoman Harvest Ribs finished with pomegranate molasses, pistachio, and sumac
French-American: Bourbon Boulevard Tart draped in Kentucky bourbon sauce
The Wine Pairings
Wine expert François Guilloux of VINO Distribution developed a pairing for each course, from a Provence rosé alongside the peach-and-burrata caprese to a 2011 Château Dassault Grand Cru Classé with the Ottoman Harvest Ribs and a rare 1976 Pineau des Charentes to close the night. He walked guests through why each wine met its dish, turning the pairings into an education woven through the evening rather than an afterthought poured beside it.
Southern Serenade Caprese: Domaine La Cadenière Rosé (Provence, France)
Beirut Sunset Trout: Comte de la Chevalière Sancerre (Loire Valley, France)
Spice Route Pot Pie: Borell-Diehl Gewürztraminer (Germany)
Ottoman Harvest Ribs: 2011 Château Dassault Grand Cru Classé (Bordeaux Saint-Émilion, France)
Bourbon Boulevard Tart: 1976 Pineau des Charentes (Cognac, France)
FUSION360° Through Their Eyes
Beautiful photography shows what a room looked like. Guest content shows how it felt to be in it. Several of the creators and tastemakers at FUSION360° shared the evening with their own audiences that night, and they have generously given us permission to bring those perspectives together here.
A Botanical Atlas
Rose of Sharon Floral Design Studio's Althea Wiles translated the same five-country journey into botanicals, one arrangement for each cultural chapter. Nearly half of the materials came from Ozark Mountain farms, giving the designs an Arkansas foundation even as they referenced traditions around the world. Cedar, Lebanon's national emblem, anchored the Lebanese-American design, while sacred marigolds carried their cultural symbolism to the Indian-American table.
Together, the five arrangements formed a botanical atlas that shifted with the courses, so the florals were never just centerpieces. They were another way of telling the same story the menu was telling.
An Immersive Atmosphere
The immersive atmosphere was heightened by country-specific projections, coordinated uplighting, and curated music by Central Arkansas Entertainment's DJ Jellybean, transporting guests without them ever leaving their seats, while Weaver Films captured the evening cinematically and Lori Sparkman Photography documented every beautiful detail.
The Film
If the guest clips show how the night felt from the inside, this is the night at full cinematic scale. Weaver Films followed the evening from the first pour to the final course and shaped it into a short film that captures the whole arc of FUSION360°.
In keeping with our commitment to community impact, FUSION360° supported Arkansas Foodbank in recognition of Hunger Action Month. Arkansas Foodbank's Director of Community Engagement, Claire Tiffin, spoke to guests about the organization's mission, highlighting that Arkansas ranks first in the nation for food insecurity. The event's food drive connected the evening's celebration of culinary abundance with awareness of local need, demonstrating how even intimate gatherings can create meaningful ripples of positive change.
FUSION360° was built for 15 people around one table. Its reach ended up traveling much farther, through the guests who shared it, the editorial coverage that followed, and now an ACE Award for Catered Micro Event of the Year.
This marks Vibrant Occasions Catering's second ACE Award, following its 2024 recognition for Dinner on the River. We were proud to produce FUSION360° alongside a team willing to take a small guest count and think very big about what those 15 people could experience.
FUSION360° Vendors and Partners
Co-host and Venue: Rusty Tractor Vineyards, @rustytractorvineyards
Co-host and Catering: Vibrant Occasions Catering, @vibrantoccasionscatering
Event Planning: Meredith Events, @meredithevents
Wine Consultant: VINO Distribution, @vinodistribution
Floral Design: Rose of Sharon Floral Design Studio, @roseofsharonfloral
Photography: Lori Sparkman Photography, @lorisparkmanphotography
Videography: Weaver Films, @weaverfilms
Music & Lighting: Central Arkansas Entertainment, @cae_lr | DJ Jellybean, @djjbean
Public Relations: Meredith Corning PR, @meredithcorningpr
Charitable Partner: Arkansas Foodbank, @arfoodbank