The sounds of mud and water squishing and children’s laughter mixed with soulful tunes pouring from the music stage Saturday at the 11th annual HemlockFest at Starbridge Sanctuary in Murrayville near Dahlonega. Hosted by the Lumpkin Coalition, money raised from the event helps fund research programs by local colleges and universities to combat the wooly adelgid that attacks hemlock trees. As her son Noah, 4, stomped through the mud puddles proudly carrying a decorated paper lantern, Carol Reed expressed her admiration for the benefit festival spearheaded by Forest Hilyer, one her family has attended for nearly a decade.