diff --git a/zerorpc/events.py b/zerorpc/events.py
index 7f7c257..76f760c 100644
--- a/zerorpc/events.py
+++ b/zerorpc/events.py
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ def pack(self):
 
     @staticmethod
     def unpack(blob):
-        unpacker = msgpack.Unpacker(encoding='utf-8')
+        unpacker = msgpack.Unpacker(raw=False)
         unpacker.feed(blob)
         unpacked_msg = unpacker.unpack()