Festival season is upon us, but as people look forward to a pleasant diversion from the poor economy, they might notice a bit of that financial gloom creeping into local events.

Though several mainstay festivals in southeastern Connecticut have been affected by budget concerns, however, organizers said it's their goal to make festival-goers not notice the difference.

There have been casualties: The Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation canceled the popular Schemitzun festival, replacing it with a much smaller powwow at the Mashantucket Pequot Museum and Research Center and the Montville Fair, canceled last year, won't be revived in the face of financial troubles and lack of volunteers.

Others, meanwhile, have figured out ways to stay afloat despite some challenges.

The annual Norwich Fourth of July fireworks festival committee starts raising money in February to reach the goal of about $50,000 by May.

But this year, the committee deferred to the Norwich 350th anniversary celebration, which had planned two nights of July 4 weekend fireworks. Money woes forced that organization to eliminate fireworks altogether from the $200,000 month-long 350th anniversary celebration.

Then city officials said they would eliminate the usual $6,000 contribution from the city budget, said Greg Allard, fireworks committee coordinator.

And due to city budget cuts, all private events would have to pay for police coverage, an estimated $10,000 for the fireworks festival.

The festival committee didn't start aggressive fundraising until May, putting out a plea for 100 Norwich residents to donate $350 in honor of the city's anniversary. City Manager Alan Bergren - the one responsible for cutting the budget - was among the 40 people to respond to the call thus far.

As of Tuesday, Allard said the group has raised $28,000, enough to announce officially that the fireworks definitely will be shot off over Norwich Harbor at 9:30 p.m., Saturday July 4. Now, the question becomes, how spectacular the display will be?

Atlas PyroVision Productions, Inc. of Jaffrey, N.H., offered to help boost the city's display by 10 percent at no extra charge.

"We don't want anybody to be disappointed with their show," said Sarah Bergeron, Atlas vice president.

In Stonington, organizers of the 55th annual Blessing of the Fleet cut the traditional two-day event back to one day, July 26. But as soon as that was announced, the Stonington Borough Merchants Association organized a daylong "All Things Borough Celebration" on the previous day to replace the once-popular Saturday night party at the Town Dock.

The new block party will feature family activities, but no alcohol will be served.

Blessing of the Fleet organizer Arthur Medeiros said the festival committee no longer could bear the expense of a two-day event.

The 32nd annual New London Sailfest event July 10 through 12 has been scaled back a bit this year, said Executive Director Barbara Neff. Sailfest reduced the music venues from four stages to two this year, eliminating stages in front of City Hall and at the Parade. There will be no street vending Friday, and the urban art show has been postponed to August to allow the festival to shrink its overall footprint, Neff said.

"We had to cut back this year because of the economy," Neff said.

On Saturday night, the fireworks display, sponsored by the Mashantucket Pequot tribe, will light the skies over the Thames River. But Neff said she has been told that the tribe's annual sponsorship of the Grucci Fireworks event will be "a little less" this year. She had no specifics, and tribal officials could not be reached for comment.

Neff said, however, that a combination of new events and an emphasis on the city's connections to the water should make the event just as attractive. There will be a new raw bar on Friday night at the Custom House Pier, and the Project Oceanology research boat will join two tall ships docked in New London for the weekend.

Groton's 31st annual July 4 parade might look a bit smaller this year as well, but it's not because of the economy, said Ben Morse, Groton Parks and Recreation Department program supervisor. He said some people had indicated they couldn't participate because the holiday falls on a Saturday and they would be away for the weekend.

Unlike other towns, Morse said his budget from the town remained stable at $10,000. About $8,200 pays for fees for marquee bands and performers to come to the parade.

And unlike in Norwich, Groton police will once again provide security and traffic control for the event free of charge.

"This is one of the things they didn't touch in the budget," Morse said gratefully.

Organizers for both the Mystic Outdoor Art Festival and Mystic Seaport events hope more people will come out than usual in an attempt to save money by staying close to home.

Michael O'Farrell, the Seaport's director of Public Relations, said they've added two new events in August, Garden Days and Dog Days, along with new nighttime programming running through Labor Day.

"We want to try to capture more people than we had before," he said.

Celebrate East Lyme, now in its 10th year, is also continuing with more activities. First Selectman Paul Formica said the event committee noticed early that they weren't getting the level of business sponsorships they had in the past, so the group started a new program for small business owners to get involved in the event.

"It seems to be working," Formica said.

New this year are the Great Niantic Bay raft races and a dunk tank featuring Formica to raise money for children with cancer.

North Stonington saved enough money from the previous year's agricultural fair to hold the four-day event as usual, said Mike Riley, president of the fair committee.

Waterford Week and the Ledyard Fair will be held, but organizers didn't return phone calls before deadline.

c.bessette@theday.com