Youngstown Connection to perform in Hawaii

Staff report

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The Youngstown Connection, the song-and-dance troupe that serves as ambassadors for Youngstown City Schools and the Mahoning Valley, will perform in Oahu, Hawaii for the 70th anniversary of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.

Group members, under the direction of Carol Baird, leave Monday for August memorial events that include performing on the battleship USS Missouri with a commemorative flag presentation, on the USS Arizona memorial, at a hospital for wounded veterans, at the Hale Koa Hotel for injured soldiers and at the Almoana Center.

The Connection will visit the National Cemetery of the Pacific (Punchbowl), Washington Palace (the Governor’s Mansion), the State Capitol Building, Iolani Palace, the King Kamehamaha Statue and the Polynesian Cultural Center where they will visit the seven villages that represent the islands and enjoy a Polynesian luau.

The Connection will hike Oahu’s famous landmark Diamond Head, go on a sailing adventure and tour Honolulu and the island.

The Connection has traveled to China, Mexico, the Bahamas and seven European countries. The Connection raised more than half of the necessary funds through performance and fundraising events.

Members making the trip are Kaitlyn Cook, Alexis Shellow, Toshi Hudson, Joseph Corradi, Sha’ron Skinner, Arielle Green, Kristyn Cheatham, Brendan O’Hara, James Cancel, Jason Whitehead, Alex Mickler, Jaylen Smith and Leon Smith. They return home Aug. 7.