BOSTON -- This year's economic slowdown is pinching some Bay State communities so tightly they're considering canceling their annual Fourth of July celebrations because of a lack of funds.

Two towns, Abington and Bridgewater, say they are having a tough time raising the donations they need to hold local celebrations.

Town Budgets Put Squeeze On Fireworks

“Because of the economy, most of our corporate sponsors have not made the contribution they have in the past,” said Kathy McCarthy, a member of Abington's "Night Before the 4th" committee.

“This has hurt us tremendously and is making it difficult to get the funds we need to hold our event this year,” she said.

Abington's "Night Before the 4th" committee usually needs about $32,000 to organize the fireworks, carnival and variety of food and entertainment it offers at Memorial Field on the night of July 3 each year to celebrate the Independence Day.

The event was canceled once three years ago because of lack of funding.

“We don’t want it to happen again,” said McCarthy. “It’s a very important event for the community. People plan their Fourth of July celebration around our event.”

The "Night Before 4th" has been a tradition in Abington for almost 30 years. The committee still needs about $14,000 in funding this year to make the event happen.

The town of Bridgewater is also struggling to save its Fourth of July tradition.

“In economy like this, fundraising is definitely more difficult than previous years,” said Jeff Fowler, the Bridgewater Fourth of July committee chairman. “But it’s a big event for the community. Local businesses and residents are the big part helping our fundraising.”

Bridgewater's Fourth of July committee usually organizes fireworks, a parade, music and entertainment to celebrate Independence Day. The event usually costs around $35,000. Fowler said the committee still needs about $3,000 more to get to its goal this year.

“We are still in process of raising money,” said Fowler. “But we will definitely try our best to have our Independence Day celebration this year.”

In Randolph, officials came close to having to cancel the town's annual fireworks display when the organization that had been sponsoring it pulled out about a month ago because of financial constraints, town secretary Dave Murphy said.

The Board of Selectmen, however, asked Town Meeting if it wanted to try to raise the money for the fireworks and when the hat was passed, members collected nearly $700. They then appealed to local businesses for help.

"A lot of local businesses have stepped forward and donated," Murphy said, adding that the town has collected about 85 percent of what it needs to pay for the July 3 fireworks, which will cost between $15,000 and $18,000.