True to form

Organizers of the Fisherman’s Feast in the North End, the August Moon Festival in Chinatown, and the Dominican Festival Parade in Jamaica Plain said they suffered a dearth of sponsors and diminished funding, but found ways to preserve the flavor of familiar celebrations attended by hundreds.

The Fisherman’s Feast is based on a tradition that dates to 16th-century Sicily, where fishermen honored the Madonna del Soccorso, or Our Lady of Help. The four-day festival includes a procession carrying the Madonna’s statue through the North End’s streets and ends with the “Flight of the Angel,’’ in which a young girl dressed as an angel is suspended by wires from a third-story window and recites a prayer.

“The main emphasis is religious and if we have to cut back on the frills, we do that,’’ said Raymond Geany, who chairs the nonprofit that organizes the festival. “Our main emphasis is on honoring the Madonna. That’s an area we wouldn’t cut.’’

This year’s festival probably cost between $80,000 and $100,000 - about the same as last year - and organizers struggled to raise funds, Geany said.

“We noticed last year that a lot of corporations that have been with us for years had difficulty in committing to the feast,’’ he said. Pepsi and Starbucks were among past sponsors who did not participate this year.

But he said he was pleased with the turnout at this year’s celebration.

Chinatown’s August Moon Festival, which cost about $30,000, also lost sponsors and saw a 15 to 20 percent drop in funds raised compared with last year, said Tony M. Yee, president of Chinatown Main Street, one of the nonprofits that helped organize yesterday’s event.

Though Yee declined to say how much money was raised this year, he said reserves help cover the difference.

And also to reduce spending, this year the organizers decided not to hire a cleaning agency, Yee said, relying on volunteers to help clean before, during, and after the festival. No cuts were made in the entertainment lineup, which included traditional Chinese music and dance by locals, fashion shows, and martial arts.

“It’s like a big flea market,’’ Yee said. “There’s a lot of things to see, buy, touch . . . the whole entire event is for families.’’

Organizers at the North End festival, however, did decide against inviting prominent musicians to provide entertainment this year. They are also trying to save for next year’s centennial celebration.

“We do depend on the generosity of our members and families, either donating to the raffle, or donating to the Madonna itself, or just purchasing a sausage sandwich at the vendors,’’ Geany said.

Visitors said they looked forward to the festivals every year, a few lamenting the impact of the downturn on the arrangements.

Johnny Nguyen, 26, was running a ring toss stall in Chinatown, giving people a chance to win small prizes such as stuffed animals and piggy banks. But despite his low prices - $3 for 10 rings - he said he was struggling to attract patrons.

“Just looking at the streets alone, it’s a lot less crowded now,’’ said Nguyen, who was at the festival for the second year. “We haven’t gotten as much traffic as we would’ve hoped. It doesn’t seem like people want to spend money.’’

Similarly, while many at Franklin Park’s annual Dominican festival waved flags and enjoyed shish kabobs and rice, some wistfully remembered better economic times.

“It used to have a whole complete carnival’’ with rides, Mailyn Castro, 30, a Dorchester resident, said of the festival.

Juan Ares, 18, also of Dorchester, was walking with three friends. “It’s not as good as it used to be,’’ he said. Two, three years back this would have been full. There’s no one here [now].’’

But others were more positive.

Ed Yee of Belmont, who was at the Chinatown festival yesterday, said he liked its diversity and enjoyed the traditional Chinese opera singing.

“It gets better every year,’’ he said. “It’s like a block party sort of similar to what they have in the North End. It’s another piece of ethnic activity in the city.’’

Elle Bussone, 35, of the North End, who was standing with her 4-year-old daughter, Ava, at the corner of Cross and Hanover streets watching the procession yesterday afternoon, said she loved the festival. “I like the old Italian bands, the games, the food, the whole atmosphere,’’ she said.

Dominican festival organizer Hemenegildo Martinez said event coordinators did the best they could with reduced sponsorship by inviting volunteer performers and asking community members to make small monetary contributions.

“It’s a way to share our culture,’’ Martinez said of the event.