After 30 years, Hanford's Moon Festival organizers may have to scrap the entire event this year.

"We don't know" whether there will be a festival this year, said Arianne Wing, president of the Taoist Temple Preservation Society. With dwindling sponsorship interests amid the economic downturn, the organization is facing tough choices, she said.

The popular annual event, which features a lion dance and a Taiko drum performance, is the major fundraiser for the society, which preserves the integrity of Hanford's Chinatown and legacy of Chinese immigrants who settled in the area before Hanford was a town.

The Moon Festival -- a Chinese celebration held to give thanks for the bounty of the earth -- is celebrated here on the first Saturday of October as a way to introduce the community to the Chinese culture that has shaped the history of the town. It was held each year for the last 29 years.

Wing this week said the society has no choice but to put the beloved annual event on hiatus, unless someone would come forward again to underwrite the festivities.

The society faced a similar situation two years ago, but Mackey & Mackey Insurance Agency stepped in at the time to save the event.

But the company is backing out after three years of underwriting the community event.

In this current economy, Wing doesn't expect the same miracle to happen this year.

"Everybody's hurting financially. All nonprofits know that. Their funds are down; grants have dried up," Wing said. "My dilemma this year is, do we keep soliciting (sponsors) trying to get the Moon Festival going or do we go back to our original (mission) of preserving Chinatown buildings."

The upkeep, maintenance and restoration of buildings in themselves are an expensive endeavor.

The historic China Alley -- bordered by Seventh, Green, White streets -- is home to rows of vintage 19th-century buildings, including the 130-plus-year-old Taoist temple and the famed Imperial Dynasty restaurant, which is temporarily closed.

The temple and the museum and the gift shop downstairs are still open on the first Saturday of each month.

Most recently, the society has been working on the restoration of the L.T Sue building across the alley from the temple, where the popular Chinese herbalist ran his shop in the early 1900s -- a significant figure that drew many Chinese and non-Chinese to Hanford's China Alley.

The building was donated by the same family who owned and ran the Imperial Dynasty restaurant for 120-plus years so it can be restored and become part of the museum.

"This building is going to take a lot of resources and funding to restore. We'd like to have the Moon Festival to offer to the public; it's always a fun and well-received event. We have fun doing it as well," Wing said. "But if we're fundraising to restore and preserve buildings, it's hard to take it out of our coffers to put on an event that we end up spending more money [on] than what we're making."

Traditionally, the moon festival coincides with the Renaissance Faire at the downtown Civic Park, making it the weekend a big draw for Hanford.

Meanwhile, Hanford's tourism promoters say it's too early to give up completely.

"I would hope that we don't give up continuing the search so the community may find several donors who could help," said Dave Jones, director of the Hanford Conference and Visitor Agency. "It would be a shame not to have the festival. It's an important part of the community."

Jones said he would sit down with the society and brainstorm "one more time" to come up with ideas to raise funds.

To put on the Moon Festival, the society would need at least $4,000, Wing said.

The reporter can be reached at 583-2429.

(March 13, 2009)