Some 25,000 people are expected to come together today in Waikiki to bid a final aloha to legendary island crooner Don Ho — who, for so many, grew to become the iconic image of Hawai'i.

Ho's memorial service and tribute concert will begin at 5 p.m. today at Queen's Surf Beach on the Diamond Head side of Waikiki with a procession to the beach fronting the Royal Hawaiian Hotel, and the scattering of Ho's ashes in the waters of Waikiki. Ho, of course, knew Waikiki well, performing to packed showrooms for the past 40 years.

A string of Hawai'i's top entertainers will participate in the tribute. And Ho's daughter, Hoku, in a fitting farewell tribute to her father, will sing "I'll Remember You."

Ho, who died of heart failure on April 14, will surely be kept in the hearts of many visitors and residents alike.

The local boy with the laid-back style; the handsome Air Force pilot; the consummate Waikiki entertainer who truly embodied the essence of aloha, making time to kiss every cheek in seemingly endless lines of ladies.

For all the indelible images of the Islands you left in the hearts and minds of so many, our heartfelt aloha.