Meet Kate Leung | singer, event planner, emcee & travel director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Kate Leung and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi kate, as a parent, what do you feel is the most meaningful thing you’ve done for them?
I am currently the mother of an energetic 4-year-old boy. I certainly hope that, as a working mom, I am eventually able to impart the importance of being present with an alertness and focus that demonstrates a consistency of hard work and dedication. No matter the tasks you are doing, whether it be working for yourself or someone else, there is a deep sense of responsibility and diligence to the work. Moreover, I hope to impress upon my son the ultimate importance of loving what you do, finding genuine joy and pleasure in doing it, then you can be truly happy and proud of your work.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I was very fortunate that from a young age I knew what I loved to do. I had a natural affinity for music and performance, specifically vocal performance. My love for singing really started it all. I remember the very first time I stepped on stage. It was in the fourth grade talent show at my elementary school. I remember the song I sang, the music, the lyrics and I remember so fondly how good it felt to be there. From then on, I always found myself magnetically connected to the attraction and high of performing. I made choices that always granted me the space and audience to perform. Fast forward a bit to high school, I was in the show choir, where I not only met one of my best teachers, but also met several of my best friends with whom we are counting 30 + years of friendship! It was during a chance encounter at one of our show choir performances in high school that really opened up a door where I could make singing and performing a career. I was having so much fun performing and singing with my friends that it never occurred to me this could be something I could possibly make a living from. During that performance, we are approached by a talent scout to ask if a group of us would be interested in being background dancers for weddings. we all said yes! Naturally, in addition to the dancing, I quickly transitioned to also being a wedding singer. This was now the late 90’s and karaoke was a really popular fixture in the Asian wedding circuit. Eventually, my friends faded out of the wedding scene, but I stuck with it and transitioned into Emceeing. Then, a few years further down the road, with my thirst for learning and wanting to say “yes” to new things, I learned and also got into Event Planning and Officiating. It was such a natural path of growth and transition for me, I never had a second thought about it. My niche was having this deep experience from a young age, and being bilingual certainly helped solidify my connection to the community as well. Through the years, I even became fluent and comfortable enough to add Mandarin as a 3rd language into my repertoire, so now I was able to Emcee, Sing and Officiate in 3 different languages. The most exciting part is that even after almost 30 years in this industry, there remains so much more for me to learn. There will be good and bad days, accompanied with highs and lows, and you have to take them all in and learn from it all! Persevering through all the noise, complaints, and for me even a bad review is never an easy task. We must learn to adjust and change, and know that as long as you keep that thirst for continued success and focus to persevere and push through, you will come out stronger, more improved and a better version of yourself. It is so important to never remain stagnant or compliant. I frequently remind myself that the moment an event seems “boring” or “predictive” it is time to stop and reevaluate things. I never want the excitement and butterflies of performing, planning, and any other parts of the creative process to become mundane or repetitive. I want to always continue to be better and as long as people will have me, I will continue to bring my version of support and joy through my brand and services.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
LA is such a diverse city. I am so proud to have been raised here, live here and continue to thrive here! Where else can you surf and ski on the same day if you wanted to?! I don’t think it’s possible to show someone all of the best and in LA in just a week, but I will certainly try to give them the best highlights. first off, the food! with such a Melting Pot of cultures and people, the Food is no exception. you can have the most traditional of Cantonese Foods in the San Gabriel Valley ( affectionately known as the 626 ) and then Drive down to Downtown LA for the best street hot dogs! everyday we would plan meals around these type of cultural foods. I would hit Thai Town, little manila, k-town, J-Town, and we haven’t even gotten through all the Southeast Asian countries yet. then moving to the west side, there is a decadent selection of steakhouses and high-end dining to make for a fancy dressy evening and then middle tear restaurants of food fusions in cities like Silver Lake. Next thing to plan are the parks and landmarks. everyday will be a different one to visit hang out in for a little bit I think it’s also important to show that although LA is mostly city-based, that we are still very much in touch with our natural surroundings and still have many areas of beautiful nature to share. Then, comes shopping! even with shopping, there are so many different options. he can go with the mom and pop, eclectic stores you might find in cities like Eagle Rock and Highland Park. Then, you can do some fun bargain shopping at malls and outlets, and finally even take it to the extreme where we visit Rodeo Drive and just do some window shopping. Finally, wouldn’t be a trip to LA without doing some “touristy” stuff like visiting a Theme Park, 6 flags, Disneyland, Knotts or Universal are always sure full day experiences. We mix it all up from each day and you’ll have an unforgettable week filled with unique experiences in LA!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am so immensely thankful to all the teachers that have impacted my life. This shoutout definitely goes to all those unsung heroes of Our Generation. It is such a thankless job and many times you don’t see the fruit of your labors until years later, while every day they show up, work hard and attempt to shape the lives of so many young minds. The impact my teachers and mentors have had on me is immense and their lessons continue even now! I am so grateful and blessed they were put in my life to point me in the right direction and give me that piece of advice I never knew I needed. THANK YOU!

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Image Credits
Brian Sun Photography
The Grey Orange
Adrienne Gunde Photography
Lin & Jirsa Photography