HemlockFest! Helping save our endangered Hemlock trees + Adventure, Live Music & optional Camping

IN A NUTSHELL: For the past several years our AOC members have participated independently of the Club in this fine "give-back-to-nature" festival. This year for the first time your AOC Outreach committee is posting it here as a Club "participation event."  We urge you to take part in it as a volunteer and/or HemlockFest attendee.  Although many AOCers drive up on Sat AM and head back home late Sat evening, you can arrange to be there for any or all of the 3 days and 2 nights of the festival.  This can include overnight camping Fri or Sat night or both.  You can arrive as early as 2:00 PM Friday and stay as late as 3:00 PM Sunday.   There are lots of incredible activities & entertainment acts scheduled for all three days including live music on the main stage from midday thru midnight on both Friday and Saturday! 

IMPORTANT REGISTRATION DETAILS: HemlockFest is NOT organized or managed by the AOC and no funds are handled through our own Club.  Anyone who wishes to participate must formally register via the following website - CLICK HERE:  http://HemlockFest.org/ 
Please read all the details by clicking the various topics atop the HemlockFest.org home page, and pre-register and pay in advance if you decide to attend.  If you register to volunteer as I do each year, the admission amounts to only about a $5-per-day parking fee.  To volunteer for specific time slots first click "Volunteer" on the homepage.  If you wish to be on our INFORMAL AOC ROSTER of members who have an interest in this event - and to get AOC "credit" for participating - please ALSO register at the base of this article as you would for AOC events that are solely sponsored and managed by us.

SUMMARY of the FESTIVAL'S GOALS, ACTIVITIES & ATTRACTIONS: The main goal of this delightful annual North GA mountain festival is to increase public awareness of the plight of our Eastern Hemlock trees and to facilitate methods of saving them for future generations. It is hosted each November by a key AOC partner, the Lumpkin Coalition.
  Hemlock stands are among the only old growth forests in the east and are of great importance to wildlife, water quality, the economy, and our basic quality of life. Proceeds from the festival support means of combatting the destructive hemlock woolly adelgid, an Asian aphid-like insect that has already killed millions of these beautiful trees throughout the mountain regions of eastern America.
  Located at a beautifully wooded lakeside mountain resort the festival features an amazing lineup of fine musicians and bands all weekend performing live music on its outdoor stage, with plenty of seating on the huge lawn in front of the bandstand - in our own camp chairs, with warm festive "campfire barrels" burning all around us at night!  HemlockFest's other fun and educational options include primitive camping, guided nature walks, archery, canoeing on Burgess Lake and much more - all virtually free of charge!  Experts are on hand to answer all your questions about the hemlocks.  Also there are a wide variety of exhibits, arts & crafts demonstrations, and a silent auction.
  Local restaurants have kitchens set up on site with delicious food & refreshments for sale, including cold beer with proof of age.  Festival merchandise includes clothing, souvenir items, jewelry, pottery, sculpture, woodcarvings, furniture, Native American crafts, and framed oil paintings, watercolors & nature photography - also potted hemlock saplings and herbs.

DIRECTIONS to HEMLOCKFEST from the GA-400 / I-285 INTERCHANGE on ATLANTA'S NORTH SIDE:

1. From the north-side GA-400/ I-285 Interchange take GA-400 North for about 47 miles to its official end at the GA-60 junction & traffic light near Dahlonega. (En route note that a convenient meetup spot for carpoolers is the Park & Ride lot at the GA-400 Mansell Rd exit in Roswell/Alpharetta - about 9 miles north of I-285.)
2. Continue straight ahead via "Long Branch Rd" (from the GA-60 traffic light) an additional 4.8 miles to the GA-52 junction.
3. Turn Right onto GA-52 East and go just 1.5 miles to Starbridge Rd.
4.  Turn Left onto Starbridge Rd and look for the HemlockFest signs and volunteers.  They will facilitate your parking and entry into the festival. (Note that the entry gates are likely to be closed between 1:00 am and 9:00 am each morning.)
5.  To hook up with other AOCers look for me, Charlie, wearing my green & white AOC "Volunteer" T-shirt or try my cell phone: 404-921-4622.  Also look for my co-leader, Bobby or try his cell phone: 678-520-7314.  During the live music gigs there are usually several of us in our camp chairs just 50 feet or so out from the stage.

FOR a ZOOMABLE MAP or SATELLITE VIEW of the HEMLOCKFEST AREA click on the square blue & green "Event Location" icon near the top of this article. The "Satellite" view crosshairs are centered at our usual AOC seating spot in front of the bandstand.

GPS and MAPS.GOOGLE.com USERS: Feel free to augment the above written directions by entering the following Lat/Lon coordinates as your "Destination Address" for our usual AOC group seating area about 50' out from the bandstand: 34.52025,-83.89561