Between 20,000 and 25,000 people are expected to mass in the area for a remembrance that includes a 4:30 p.m. private service and the scattering of Ho's ashes offshore sometime before 6 p.m., followed by a free outdoor concert at Queen's Surf Beach at the diamondhead end of Waikiki.

Elsewhere, a two-hour Exodus Reggae Series concert featuring Shaggy is set to begin at the nearby Waikiki Shell. Large weddings also are planned at the Sheraton Waikiki and Royal Hawaiian hotels, where a flotilla of canoes and catamarans will launch to scatter Ho's ashes.

Maryknoll High School also will hold its junior-senior prom at the Sheraton Waikiki.

And to top it all off, Cinco de Mayo festivities are on tap, something that always attracts large crowds.

"We're going to plan for the worst-case scenario, that we'll have 25,000 people," said Honolulu police Capt. Jeff Richards of HPD's Waikiki substation. "We're not expecting trouble but this is a big event. We just hope that people keep focused.

"This is not a beer bust. It's a tribute to one of the greatest entertainers Hawai'i has ever put on a stage. We hope the police won't have to police the function, that people will police themselves and they'll understand what's it about and will act accordingly."

To cope with the expected crush of people, TheBus will provide additional service from about 3 p.m. to Waikiki from 'A'ala Park on Route 2 and from Ala Moana Center on Route 8. Extra buses will be operated on both routes after the tribute to Ho.

Free parking will be provided at Kapi'olani Community College parking lots A, B and C. Extra buses will run on Route 58 to transport people who park there to and from Waikiki.

As of 1:30 p.m. crowds had not yet started to gather in Waikiki and there was still street parking available for those wanting to attend.

After the service, special buses will be available on Monsarrat Avenue by the Waikiki Shell.

For those unwilling or unable to brave the crowd, honoluluadvertiser.com will have news updates throughout the day, photo galleries and live streaming of the tribute concert.

Television station KGMB-9 plans live coverage of all of the events — from the private service to the end of the concert.

Starting at 4:30 p.m., KHNL News 8 will begin its coverage with weekend anchor Diane Ako hosting "Remembering a Legend."

For its 6 p.m. newscast, KHNL will return to live coverage of the service.

KITV plans live updates for its 5 p.m. broadcast; KHON will do the same for its 6 p.m. newscast.

Radio stations Krater 96 FM, KINE FM "Hawaiian 105" and KCCN FM 100 also plan live updates from the events. AM-940 will broadcast the Sunset on the Beach show live.

Anyone with a marine radio will be able to listen in on the scattering of Ho's ashes on marine band channel 8.

Those who can't get to Waikiki can pay homage to Ho at Makaha Beach, where surfing legend Buffalo Keaulana and others will scatter flowers offshore from canoes at 11 a.m. Ho helped fund the inaugural year of Buffalo's Big Board Surfing Classic.

At Waikiki, city lifeguards and state Department of Land and Natural Resources officers will patrol the waters offshore to keep out paddlers, surfers, swimmers and boaters who are not part of the official flotilla.

And yesterday, the Hawai'i Air National Guard received special permission from the Pentagon to fly an F-15 Eagle fighter jet over the spot where Ho's ashes will be scattered, and tip its wing in his honor.

Ho flew cargo planes for the Air Force in the mid- to late-1950s but the Hawai'i Air National Guard still needed special permission for this tribute, said Maj. Chuck Anthony.

"It was an exception of policy," Anthony said. "Normally, veterans of his status, meaning an Air Force veteran pilot, normally wouldn't have a memorial flyby performed for them. But because Don Ho had done so much for the military over the years, we said, 'Let's give it a shot and see if we can help the family.' "

The scattering of Ho's ashes will include flowers that will be dropped from KHNL's Chopper 8 and a water-cannon salute from the Honolulu Fire Department's fire boat.

The concert at Queen's Surf Beach will feature dignitaries and an all-star lineup of Hawai'i entertainers.

But the chicken skin moment is expected to come at the end.

With video playing of the scattering of Ho's ashes, his daughter, recording artist Hoku Ho, will sing one of her father's most memorable hits: "I'll Remember You."