Volunteers are working to gather and string more than 81,000 flowers and create the largest lei on the planet by next week.

The finished lei will be unveiled at the city's 81st annual Lei Day celebration at Kapi'olani Park on Thursday. The city is trying to set a Guinness world record for the longest fresh floral lei, and volunteers will tie together approximately 1,800 separate lei hoping to make the world's first mile-long lei.

"Since there is currently no record, we could make any size lei, but we want to make a record that will be difficult to beat," said Kaiulani Vincent Kauahi, lead organizer for the event for the city Department of Parks and Recreation.

Schools, businesses and families are asked to participate in the record-making attempt by donating lei or volunteering to inspect, measure and carry the enormous lei. An estimated 200 volunteers are needed Thursday at Kapi'olani Park, where the giant lei will be assembled.

"This is just another way to celebrate Lei Day and the artistry of making lei," Kauahi said. "Being part of establishing a world record will be a really great memory for everyone."

Marcia Omura, a fourth-grade teacher at Waiau Elementary, has invited the entire school to take part in the celebration. Four classes of fourth-grade students from the school are taking a field trip to participate in the festivities.

Waiau Elementary was one of O'ahu's first Hawaiian immersion schools, and learning about the culture, which includes lei making, is an important part of the curriculum, Omura said. The students have been taught the meaning behind lei, as well as how to make them.

"Ancient Hawaiian lei-making ties in with our past and our present," Omura said. "This celebration is just another way to honor the students' traditions and culture."

Several students are going to enter the lei-making contest as well as volunteer with establishing the record.

When lei donations are received, they will be connected and attached to the larger lei.

Once the lei has reached the desired length, measurements, photographs and massive amounts of paperwork will have to be completed to establish the record.

"We were hoping to have an official Guinness World Record adjudicator on-site, but that was not possible so we have a laundry list of items to send to them," said Mona Wood, an organizing team member.

The lei will be tied and presented to the crowd by Mayor Mufi Hannemann, 2008 Lei Day Queen Paulette Kahalepuna and sponsors of the Lei Day celebration.

After the presentation, volunteers and observers will be allowed to take pieces of the lei home as a souvenir.

"We will also take pieces to the Royal Mausoleum to be placed on the graves of the ali'i," Kauahi said.

Within a few weeks of sending the required information to Guinness World Records, Hannemann will announce whether the record is official.

Lei Day events will take place from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Kapi'olani Park. It is free and open to the public.

Following a performance by the Royal Hawaiian Band at 9 a.m., the main program will begin at 10 a.m. with the investiture of the 2008 Lei Queen and court. That will be followed by a presentation of the world-record lei at about 11:15 a.m. Music and hula performances will follow.

Reach April Randolph at arandolp@honolulu.gannett.com.