SASKATOON – After years of contemplation on how to pay tribute to an iconic Canadian musician, the City of Saskatoon will honour Joni Mitchell with a 400 space parking lot.
The Joni Mitchell Paradise Parking Lot will be located beside a Wal-Mart and several other box stores located in the city’s East End.
Last year, Mitchell refused any tributes from the city saying that the community has always been extremely bigoted, but citizens and the municipal government went ahead with the honour after recognizing what they believed was the true messages of her songs.
“I’m happy we came up with a creative way to honour a fellow Saskatooner,” said Evonne Sidony, Department Manager of Arts and Culture at the City of Saskatoon. “This new cultural site will recognize what Joni Mitchell was making people aware of; the inevitable progress of human development and nature’s inferiority. This is why she was always talking about paving more parking lots to help the local economy.”
The parking lot also offers a space where locals can burn rubber doing donuts with their SUVs and pickup trucks, which is meant to personify Mitchell’s life-long commitment to cigarettes.
Land for the parking lot was made available after the city bulldozed a nature preserve for the endangered Whooping crane.
At press time, the Saskatchewan government announced the plans to build a tree museum and charge $1.50 for an admission fee.
