Local Singer/Songwriter Trish Lester has been tapped to bring her folk singing skill to the July 4 Parade entry of Santa Clarita Organization for Preserving the Environment (SCOPE). Lester will be on board, singing Joni Mitchell’s 1970 hit, “Big Yellow Taxi.”
“Trish is very talented,” said SCOPE President, Lynne Plambeck. “We’re honored to have her participate, adding a musical dimension to our float. This song fits the SCOPE mission perfectly. We hope to help local residents remember the importance and beauty of our native oaks, the Santa Clara River and all our very special plants and animals.”
While not a SCOPE member, Lester is in sympathy with the environmental movement. “Parade-goers will no doubt recognize the chorus, ‘They paved paradise and put up a parking lot,’” she said. A few years back, Lester included these very words in a letter to the editor about the impending massive development along Hwy. 126.
According to Plambeck, SCOPE float builders are busy creating a “Tree Museum,” to illustrate another lyric from the song.