Dolly Parton made local impact for thousands

Advertisement

Advertise with us

When Dolly Parton performed for 8,500 Winnipeg fans at the arena on Sept. 12, 2016 — her final local appearance — Free Press reporter Erin Lebar was there, giving the show five stars and lauding the then-70-year-old multi-instrumentalist’s onstage energy and authenticity.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

When Dolly Parton performed for 8,500 Winnipeg fans at the arena on Sept. 12, 2016 — her final local appearance — Free Press reporter Erin Lebar was there, giving the show five stars and lauding the then-70-year-old multi-instrumentalist’s onstage energy and authenticity.

“Each story was told with as much enthusiasm as if she were telling it for the first time instead of the thousandth, every power note at the top of her register blasted through the arena with ease, and every laugh and joke and off-the-cuff riff felt unquestionably genuine,” Lebar wrote.

“It takes a lot of effort to be that good, even if it doesn’t seem like it.”

JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES
Dolly Parton performs at the MTS Centre on on Sept. 12, 2016.
JOHN WOODS / FREE PRESS FILES

Dolly Parton performs at the MTS Centre on on Sept. 12, 2016.

Speaking to Lebar in advance of the show, the legendary performer was chatty and open about everything from her personal style to her love of carbs.

“If I’m comfortable with me, other people seem to be comfortable around me,” she said. “I know I look artificial, but I’ve often said I’d like to think I’m totally real where it counts.”

Asked about her rigorous touring schedule — her 2016 tour was making 63 stops, including several at smaller rural communities in Canada — Parton said it was fuelled by her love of performing, which had not waned.

“I want to do this forever and I recognize the number of my age, and so I think, ‘Well I ain’t got as much time as I used to have,’ so I want to make the most out of every single minute … I’ll never retire, I hope I drop dead right in the middle of a song or onstage one of these days in the future.”


Parton’s most recent Winnipeg show was 10 years ago, but the country music icon made an impact in the city last year.

A custom bowl decorated by the late singer and noted philanthropist was auctioned off at Harvest Manitoba’s Empty Bowls fundraiser in October 2025.

SUPPLIED
                                A bowl decorated and signed by Dolly Parton was auctioned for Harvest Manitoba last year.

SUPPLIED

A bowl decorated and signed by Dolly Parton was auctioned for Harvest Manitoba last year.

The bidding for Parton’s creation — a white tiered bowl with flower and sequin embellishments from one of her costumes — started at $2,000. The auction ended up raising $1.4 million for the local food bank.

In 2013, Parton’s Imagination Library, a charitable literacy foundation that provides books to children from birth to age five, began shipping books monthly to 55 Manitoba First Nations. The program was customized to include Indigenous culture among the titles.

Parton started the charitable foundation in honour of her parents, who never learned to read or write.

— staff

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Man who tried to kill pregnant woman pleads guilty

Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Preview

Man who tried to kill pregnant woman pleads guilty

Tessa Adamski 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

A 21-year-old man has pleaded guilty to attempted murder for cutting a pregnant woman’s throat and repeatedly stabbing her during a home invasion in Erickson in 2023.

Read
Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Tundra Inn renovations highlight Churchill’s ‘growth potential’

Zoe Pierce 4 minute read Preview

Tundra Inn renovations highlight Churchill’s ‘growth potential’

Zoe Pierce 4 minute read Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026

Frontiers North Adventures has completed a major renovation and expansion of the Tundra Inn in Churchill, modernizing one of the northern Manitoba community’s best-known hotels.

The project added 21 new guest rooms and expanded common areas, bringing the total room count to 44. (The net increase was 13 guest rooms, after an aging section of the building containing eight rooms was demolished.)

Lisa-Joy Gunter, president and co-owner of Frontiers North Adventures, said the project was driven by a desire to improve the guest experience and invest in the community.

“It really just needed an update,” Gunter said on Tuesday.

Read
Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2026

Fully protecting Transit drivers overdue

Editorial 4 minute read Preview

Fully protecting Transit drivers overdue

Editorial 4 minute read 2:00 AM CDT

Doesn’t it seem like “enough is enough” has been said more than enough times?

The union representing Winnipeg Transit drivers declared last week — again — that the service’s buses need to be outfitted with full safety shields, after yet another incident involving an assault on a partially protected transit operator.

The most recent altercation, which Amalgamated Transit Union Local 1505 president James Van Gerwen described as “almost like a hijacking situation,” occurred around 1 a.m. on Aug. 20 at the St. Vital terminal, when a passenger who had repeatedly told the operator to put the bus in motion subsequently produced a hatchet from a bag and threatened the driver from outside the partial Plexiglas protection current equipment affords.

Fortunately, the operator was able to flag down a nearby police vehicle before violence could ensue, but the driver, in her first year of service with Winnipeg Transit, is now on leave from her duties. According to the union, she joins more than 60 other drivers who are currently on stress leave owing to trauma and/or psychological injuries suffered on the job.

Read
2:00 AM CDT

Dolly Parton’s generosity sparkling example of genuine goodness

Jen Zoratti 4 minute read Preview

Dolly Parton’s generosity sparkling example of genuine goodness

Jen Zoratti 4 minute read Yesterday at 12:28 PM CDT

When I saw Dolly Parton perform in Winnipeg in September 2016, I tried, like many people, to take photos. She defied iPhone photography. In everyone’s snaps from the show, she would appear, always, as a column of light, confirming what we all say about Dolly Parton: she is an angel among us.

Read
Yesterday at 12:28 PM CDT

Security guard, 22, stabbed by shoplifter at Dollarama store

Malak Abas 4 minute read Preview

Security guard, 22, stabbed by shoplifter at Dollarama store

Malak Abas 4 minute read Yesterday at 2:44 PM CDT

A security guard was stabbed as he tried to stop a shoplifter at a Dollarama store in Winnipeg Tuesday, the latest in a string of violent incidents at the discount chain.

Winnipeg police were called to the outlet in the Courts of St. James, at 2727 Portage Ave., around 4 p.m.

Police said the guard, who is employed by Impact Security, had confronted a man suspected of shoplifting and directed him to leave the store. The suspect pulled out a sharp-edged weapon and stabbed the guard in the upper body before fleeing with stolen merchandise.

The guard, 22, was seriously injured and was taken to hospital in unstable condition. He was later upgraded to stable condition.

Read
Yesterday at 2:44 PM CDT

Try these veggie burger options around Winnipeg

Eva Wasney 7 minute read Preview

Try these veggie burger options around Winnipeg

Eva Wasney 7 minute read Yesterday at 5:11 PM CDT

This summer, a quest to discover Winnipeg’s finest veggie burgers unveiled a surprising array of creative and delicious options. From the structural integrity of buns to thoughtful toppings, the article explores standout local eateries, each offering unique takes on plant-based patties that are as flavorful as they are engaging.

Read
Yesterday at 5:11 PM CDT