Carole Vivier 'led with her heart' as a champion for film, music in Manitoba
Tributes in memory of a Manitoba film and music industry trailblazer poured in this week recognizing Carole Vivier's legacy as a compassionate changemaker in the sector.
Vivier, 73, was a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, great-grandmother and sister who worked to promote Winnipeg as a film destination in her role as the Manitoba Film and Music CEO from 1993 until she retired in 2019.
Vivier died of lung cancer on Tuesday just four days shy of her birthday, according to her obituary published on Saturday.
"Carole's warm smile, boundless love, and gentle spirit will be greatly missed by all who had the privilege of knowing her," the obituary said.
Her death is a "great loss" for the film community across the province due to her tenacity and influence on building strong connections with people internationally and locally, said her colleague of almost 25 years, Kenny Boyce.
Together they would provide film producers and directors with a tour of Winnipeg to scout possible set locations at businesses, residences, parks and city streets to support their creative visions, share their stories and stay within budget, Boyce said, who works as the manager of film and special events for the city.
"We both knew that we had a big responsibility and that a lot of people counted on us to be able to market and promote Winnipeg and to close these deals," he said.
"Those kind of stories … leave an imprint — things that I'll never forget."
In 1997, Vivier was instrumental in lobbying the provincial government for the first film tax credit in western Canada which supports crews to hone their craft and make a living, Boyce said. It provides a 30 per cent credit on all production spending in Manitoba, or between 45 and 65 per cent for eligible labour costs, according to the federal government.
She advocated for airlines to provide a direct flight between Winnipeg and Los Angeles — a change that came to fruition in 2022 — further boosting Manitoba's film industry by making travel easier for filmmakers and people working in the entertainment industry.
Like many Winnipeggers, Boyce said he is reminded of Vivier's legacy whenever he sees a fleet of big trucks and thinks, "there must be a movie going on today."
"She was a passionate champion of Manitoba's film and music sectors, and her contributions are truly immeasurable," a statement from Manitoba Film and Music said.
Vivier started working at the agency in 1985 and helped bring high-profile productions including Channel Zero, Heaven is for Real, A Dog's Purpose, Shall We Dance, Aloft and Capote to shoot in Manitoba and co-produce with local companies, the statement said.
She supported the careers of filmmakers including Guy Maddin, Norma Bailey and Madison Thomas and artists Royal Canoe, Begonia, The Lytics, Crash Test Dummies and Chantal Kreviazuk.
"Her love for Manitoba musicians was palpable — she was forever raving about the latest album or singing along to her favourite Manitoba playlists," according to the statement.
Vivier served on many boards of directors, including at the National Screen Institute, the Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television, Canadian Film Centre Feature Film Advisory Committee, Burton Cummings Theatre for Performing Arts and Film Training Manitoba.
She helped bring the Juno Awards, which recognizes artists in Canada's music industry, to Winnipeg in 2005 and was the co-chair of the 2014 Juno host committee, Manitoba Film and Music said in its statement.
Vivier "was an exceptional leader and changemaker because she led with her heart," the statement.
She was the recipient of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2012, awarded to Canadians who have made significant contributions to their community. She was also the recipient of the Order of Manitoba in 2014 and the Order of Canada last year.
"These prestigious awards reflected her tireless dedication to making the world a better place, whether through her volunteer work, leadership, or quiet acts of kindness that left a lasting impact on those around her," her obituary said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Winnipeg Free Press
2 days ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
Downtown Winnipeg's summer festival season is about to get into the swing of things
'We're a city of spectacle,' University of Winnipeg professor of geography Jino Distasio told the Free Press last month. 'We like a party, and also we find ourselves using the downtown as the stage for those parties.' Of course, outside the Winnipeg Whiteout Street Parties during hockey playoffs, summer and early fall are the city's spectacle seasons — starting in full swing with the annual Winnipeg International Jazz Festival. For a week in June, seemingly every downtown venue and back alley, real stage or makeshift one, courses with music and people, with Old Market Square as the party's centre of gravity. Supplied The Free Label first played the Winnipeg International Jazz Festival last year; the Toronto group is back again for 2025. 'Jazz fest is synonymous with Old Market Square,' says Jazz Winnipeg's artistic director Zachary Rushing. 'For most people, when you say 'jazz fest' here in Winnipeg, that's (what) they think of.' From tonight to Saturday, free concerts at Old Market Square happen every night, and some afternoons, boasting such out-of-town acts as the Free Label, Kimmortal, Brass Queens and New Jazz Underground, and locals including Jana Jacobs, Compost, CEC x No Fuss, Mari Padeanu, Vox Populi and Apollo Suns. Crowds can wander between these groove-heavy sets, staying hydrated at the beer gardens, and nearby indoor venues such as Little Brown Jug and the Fort Garry Hotel Club Room. There they'll find jazz club vibes, with ticketed concerts by such local jazz leaders as Will Bonness, Marco Castillo, Amber Epp and Larry Roy, among others and a few more out-of-towners. The contrast between the two types of concerts — free outdoor and ticketed indoor shows — can feel emblematic of a growing split within international jazz festivals between pop and traditional jazz programming that sometimes irks jazz purists. While Josh Daniel — lead singer of six-piece Toronto act the Free Label, which plays 11 p.m. at Old Market Square — strikes the stance of budding pop star, it's hard to miss the jazz accents that colour his band's disco and R&B sound. He feels the jazz-pop schism is a little overblown. Supplied Winnipeg quintet Vox Populi close the Old Market Square stage Saturday night. 'Well, everything always goes back to the roots, right? Blues and jazz are huge influence for us, and we all studied it.' Winnipeg International Jazz Festival After a big year, which saw the band's online fanbase skyrocket, the Free Label played Winnipeg Jazz Fest for the first time last summer, closing out the Old Market Square series. The band strutted in co-ordinated steps and outfits, like an old-school Motown or soul band — even holding the band's keytar player Jacob Thompson on his head while he improvised over chord changes that showed off the players' jazz-school chops. Daniel says the concert, which packed the space between Bannatyne, King and William with raucous Winnipeggers, was one of the band's favourites of that tour. Supplied Jana Jacobs is among several acts performing free concerts at Old Market Square. 'When we pulled in, there were some amazing jazz musicians playing, and they were ripping. They were unreal and it was awesome to see,' he adds. Festival headliners this year include a number of heavy hitters who also blur genres. There's Bela Fleck, joined by notables Edmar Castañeda and Antonio Sanchez, whose cosmic bluegrass jazz fills the Burton Cummings Theatre tonight with openers the Diogo Peixoto Trio. The 16-time Grammy-winning Fleck is certainly the world's most famous living banjoist, an unusual distinction for a jazzer. Headliner Madeleine Peyroux, who made her name 20 years ago singing retro jazz in the vein of Billie Holiday and Edith Piaf, performs tomorrow night, with velvet-voiced local singer Erin Propp opening. Supplied Madeleine Peyroux headlines Wednesday at Desautels Concert Hall. Peyroux's touring a new album, Let's Walk. 'It's really the best of her work that's happened in a long time. It's a true return to form in terms of her folk, jazz songwriting roots,' Rushing says of the American singer-songwriter. With more than 50 concerts at this year's festival, there's no shortage of things to see during the week. But Winnipeggers will have to wait until Saturday for the next headlining act, when vocalist Jimmie Herrod and American pianist George Colligan take the stage after precocious local opener Jovelle Balani. Weekly A weekly look at what's happening in Winnipeg's arts and entertainment scene. 'So many in Winnipeg will be familiar with George Colligan, because he used to be the professor of jazz piano at the University of Manitoba, while Jimmie might be a newer discovery,' says Rushing. While Herrod plays with Pink Martini, one of the world's best-known pop-jazz acts, he's become a rising star in his own right — earning Sofia Vergara's Golden Buzzer on America's Got Talent in 2022, with his performance racking up more than 17 million views on YouTube. Supplied Vocalist Jimmie Herrod Cameroon-born multi-instrumentalist Richard Bona — who also offers a free jazz clinic the same afternoon — closes out the festival on Sunday, with magnetic Afro-fusion local opener Dr Henry. A self-taught prodigy, Bona built his own instruments as a child and was later inspired by Weather Report bassist Jaco Pastorius. Now a jazz professor at NYU, Bona has toured with legends including Quincy Jones, Sting, Pat Metheny and Harry Belafonte. All the headlining acts, except Bela Fleck, perform at the state-of-the-art Desautels Concert Hall at the University of Manitoba. Shervin Lainez photos Béla Fleck (centre) is joined by Edmar Castañeda (left) and Antonio Sanchez at the Burt Tuesday. TUESDAY ● Burton Cummings Theatre Bela Fleck Trio with Diogo Peixoto Trio, 7:30 p.m., $59-$74 ● Fort Garry Hotel Club Room Will Bonness Celebrates Oscar Peterson, 7 p.m., $30 ● Old Market Square Jana Jacobs, Rein, CEC x No Fuss, Kimmortal, the Free Label Starts at 5 p.m., free WEDNESDAY ● Desautels Concert Hall Madeleine Peyroux, 7:30 p.m., $70 ● Fort Garry Hotel Club Room Brent Parkin Celebrates B.B. King, 7 p.m., $30 ● Old Market Square Mari Padeaunu, Flora Luna, Thanya Iyer, Shuffle Demons, Trio Bembe x Ego Spank Starts at 5 p.m., free ● Little Brown Jug Marco Castillo (6 p.m., $5); Emmanuel Bach and Amber Epp (8:30 p.m.; $5) THURSDAY ● Fort Garry Hotel Club Room Zachary Rushing Celebrates Mel Tormé, 7 p.m., $30 ● Public Domain Hawa B, Prado Monroe, Ed Riley, 9:30 p.m., $15 at ● Old Market Square Adam Ciric's Invisible Forces, Compost, New Jazz Underground, Kneebody, Apollo Suns Starts at 5 p.m., free ● Little Brown Jug Negash, Ocejo and Woolgar (6 p.m., $5); Kasey & Connor (8:30 p.m., $5) FRIDAY ● Fort Garry Hotel Club Room Euro Night: MusicMusicMusic (7 p.m., $30); Henk Kraaijeveid (9:30 p.m., $30) ● Old Market Square Onna Lou, Samba Jazz Project, Meta-Clave, Curubandé All Star, El Leon & the Strangers, Son D'Arranke Starts at 4:30 p.m., free SATURDAY ● Desautels Concert Hall Jimmie Herrod & George Colligan, with Jovelle Balani ● Fort Garry Hotel Club Room Canadian Jazz Showcase: Anthony D'Alessandro Quartet (7 p.m., $30); Jazz Jam Session with Larry Roy (9 p.m., free) ● Old Market Square Bridge Performance Academy, River City Syncopators, Saxophone Nouveau, Brass Queens, NYOH, Carl Mayotte Quintet, Vox Populi Starts at 3 p.m., free SUNDAY ● Desautels Concert Hall Clinic with Richard Bona, 3:30 p.m., free Richard Bona with Dr. Henry, 7:30 p.m., $69 ● Fort Garry Hotel Club Room Canadian Jazz Showcase: Lorrain Desmarais Trio (7 p.m., $30); Jazz Jam Session with Larry Roy (9 p.m., free) Conrad SweatmanReporter Conrad Sweatman is an arts reporter and feature writer. Before joining the Free Press full-time in 2024, he worked in the U.K. and Canadian cultural sectors, freelanced for outlets including The Walrus, VICE and Prairie Fire. Read more about Conrad. Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
04-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Bike Week Winnipeg to run June 8 to 14
St. Boniface WINNIPEG It's time to party — and a collective invitation has been issued to the city's bike community to join in the fun. Bike Week Winnipeg will host two neighbourhood bike parties in Westwood and St. Vital, on June 6 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. (3550 Portage Ave.), and on June 13 from 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. (5 Fermor Ave.), respectively, to celebrate cycling as an inclusive activity for everyone. The parties will include bike activities with Green Kids, bike decorating, refreshments, and free bike tune-ups courtesy of Vélo-Cité or The W.R.E.N.C.H. During Bike Week, which officially runs between June 8 and 14, Winnipeggers are also invited to attend group rides, workshops, and events such as the Bike Week Bash, Bike Winnipeg's Kidical Mass group ride for families, and Bike to Work Day on June 10. Supplied photo Participants of a group ride during last year's Bike to Work Day are pictured here. This year's Bike Week Winnipeg will run from June 8 to 14. 'Bike Week is a celebration of bicycles and everyone that uses them,' said Charleswood resident Dave Elmore, who chairs Bike Week's board of directors. 'We like to say it's for everyone, as when we started, Bike Week was more aimed at commuters. Now, it's for anybody and everybody that rides bikes.' Ultimately, one of Bike Week's universal goals is to encourage people to get on their bicycles rather than take single-occupant vehicle journeys. Elmore — a passionate cyclist himself — said the emergence of e-bikes in recent years has also become part of the conversation. 'In my personal opinion, e-bikes are shrinking the city, and they're giving people the opportunity to ride further in a shorter time,' he said, noting there will be numerous pit stops for riders on Bike to Work Day (presented by CAA Manitoba) to stop and refuel and enjoy snacks and swag. Elmore said there will be a group ride that day from Assiniboine Park to The Forks, and that people can 'jump on and drop off' at any time between 6 and 9 a.m. 'Bike Week is so important to me in so many ways. It's about encouraging people to get on their bikes and ride,' Elmore said. 'It's important to embrace and utilise our active transportation system, and there's also the environmental aspect.' Bike Week Winnipeg event producer Andraea Sartison is thrilled this year's event offers so many opportunities for people to get involved. Mondays A weekly look at news and events that matter in your communities. The St. Boniface resident said she's encouraged by the volume of local businesses lending their support. Sartison also said organizers are also welcoming any financial support community members can muster in a crowdfunding model: 'We're asking for a little community support this year. We're accepting any dollar amount, starting at $5.' 'We want to continue to grow, and we need a little love. Winnipeg is a very grassroots city, with a small town vibe in a big city, and people are always happy to contribute.' Visit for more information. Simon FullerCommunity Journalist Simon Fuller is a reporter/photographer for the Free Press Community Review. Email him at or call him at 204-697-7111. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
Winnipeg Free Press
04-06-2025
- Winnipeg Free Press
Dalnavert shines during Doors Open Winnipeg
West End I really enjoyed touring Dalnavert House during Doors Open Winnipeg. There were many interesting and historic locales welcoming visitors during Heritage Winnipeg's annual weekend event (held May 24 and 25) but Dalnavert House didn't disappoint. The museum, which includes an attached visitor centre, is nestled downtown at 61 Carlton St. The grounds are verdant and the garden is blooming. The gothic-looking Victorian mansion was built for Hugh John MacDonald, the son of Sir John A Macdonald, and his family in 1895. (At that time many well-to-do Winnipeggers lived just south of Broadway.) Volunteers in period costume imparted interesting facts and anecdotes about life in the house from the moment my group stepped onto the faithfully restored veranda. Photo by Anne Hawe The coal stove in the kitchen at Dalnavert is one reminder of how different life was more than a century ago. Hugh John was a notable Manitoban. A lawyer and politician, he was premier of the province for a very short time before becoming Winnipeg's magistrate. Although he took a hard line against strikers during the Winnipeg general strike in 1919, he was also known to let women and children sleep in the basement instead of being sent to Vaughan Street jail for stealing. History is complicated and the museum doesn't sugarcoat it. The jewel-toned carpet and wallpaper, the narrow hallways, and the beautifully appointed rooms on the first floor were atmospheric. The icebox and the cumbersome coal-burning stove in the kitchen illuminated how hard the cook and the maid would have worked to put food on the table — all with only half a day off, on Sundays. The white doorknobs in the kitchen? They were there to ensure the help washed their hands in case typhoid, influenza or Spanish flu lurked. After Hugh John died in 1929, his wife, Agnes, couldn't afford the upkeep. The house sat empty before being converted into a rooming house. The Manitoba Historical Society bought it from a developer then spent several years painstakingly renovating it before opening it as a museum in 1974. The doors closed in 2013 but the newly formed Friends of Dalnavert Museum non-profit re-opened it in 2015. The vibrant and community-minded organization brings history to life at the museum. lists Victorian themed workshops and events coming up this month. There is everything from a flower pressing workshop to watercolour painting in the garden while sipping mimosas to a foodie tour featuring Victorian snacks. Mondays A weekly look at news and events that matter in your communities. Perennially popular tours listed include Dalnavert on Drugs which explores Victorian drug culture, and Behind the Ropes which offers a closer look at Dalnavert's many rooms. Only the visitors centre and the first floor are accessible so there is a virtual tour of the house on the site. And admission is always free on the second Saturday of every month with family-friendly activities included. Anne HaweWest End community correspondent Anne Hawe is a community correspondent for the West End. She can be reached at annie_hawe@ Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.
