Arts & Entertainment

Soaring - Charlee Brought Plenty soars through her final contest. Photos taken by, Story written by, and Layout Created by Clayton Sicble-Fox United Tribes Technical College celebrated their 56th Annual Powwow Sept. 10-13. This is one of UTTC’s most anticipated events of the year, and people from all over the nation come to enjoy and partake. “Our powwow committee was selected in January (2026), so we have been working to make sure the event was ready,” Judith Redtomahawk,

1st Place - Jaycelin Coronado Bismarck State College just held its annual Pet Photo Contest, where students could enter photos of their pets during the BSC Club Fair to see if their pet would be voted as the favorite. This was the third year of this event and was created and coordinated by Erin Schwalk, the Congress of Student Organizations adviser. It all started in the spring of 2024, during a meeting of club officers. The event was inspired by a growing desire to find a

Papas! - Papa's Pumpkin Patch is welcoming guests to join in the festivities. Show up for the coolest fall photo opportunities. After more than four decades, Papa’s Pumpkin Patch is entering a new chapter this upcoming season. A longtime tradition is now under new ownership and moving to a new location next door. Dave Pearce and his family decided to sell after seeing a need for a succession plan. “The family realized an ‘aging core group’ and understood the need for a suc

YUM! - An Iced Pumpkin Spice Cookie Butter Blondie with pumpkin drizzle and cold foam outside of 7 Brew At this time every year, a select group of people go crazy and yearn for fall drinks, while individuals who don’t get it look at them like they are in a state of psychosis. Corporations make millions in the industry catering to people’s need for fall themed fuel. Every local and chain coffee shop in Bismarck has officially released their fall drink menus. If you find yours

Bismarck State College Theatre announced their 2026-2027 season. This year’s productions are some of the most well-known, contemporary pieces presented at BSC. Each show promises to deliver extraordinary storytelling through music, dancing, and acting derived from the heart of each student. In the fall, a timeless story intertwining favorite beloved fairytale characters, Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” is coming to campus. Featured characters include: Cinderella, Rapunze

I love the beginning of the new school year. Students are back on campus saving us from the sometimes too-quiet summer silence. Faculty and staff adding fun activities and discussing new ways to engage their students. Let’s not even start on the rabbit holes we all go down when learning something new. We have worked hard over the summer to revamp the library by adding new things to the collection and making sure we are fully supporting everyone on campus with our materials.

Boat Day! - Mygel's cabin out for their tubing ride. Summer camp has a special place in my heart. Unfortunately I never got the opportunity to go to camp as a camper. The closest I got to that feeling was going on a couple “father-son” retreats where the whole weekend is just tailored to us, but I never went to a weeklong summer camp growing up. It is something that looking back I wish I got to do, but I digress. This summer I got the opportunity to lead again at Castaway

Kayden Schmitcke (left), Liberty Friez (middle), and Sophia Fafard (right) stop for a photo before entering Canada. Over a weekend in July, Sophia took Kayden and me to her home back in Rocanville, Saskatchewan. We left on a Friday, and some road construction and a mishap with Google maps turned a four-hour trip into an eight-hour excursion. Oh well! Frustrating at the time, but now we look back on it fondly. We arrived around 10 that night, exiting the car and being bom

Water Meets Ingenuity - Pictured is the bottom side of the Hoover Dam and the entrance of the Colorado River. Started in 1931, the Hoover Dam was the largest dam in the world during this time and supplied much needed energy and clean water to millions of people. Nothing says summer like a girls trip! Over the last couple days of July, our family decided to take a generational Vegas girls trip with my grandma, my mom, my sister Kayla Hilzendeger, and me. We stayed at the Pari

High school students gather to learn about acting techniques as they rehearse with experienced professionals. The theatre camp group reads through a script in the Advanced Technology Center’s Rogers Black Box Theatre. From July 15 to 18, Bismarck State College hosted a camp aimed at helping students grades 9 through 12 refine their theatre skills. The camp, which ran for its second consecutive year, was organized and run by Camp Director and BSC Associate Professor of Tech

Mygel Porter with Matteo, one of the many new friends he made in Honduras. I recently got back from a week-long mission trip in Honduras which was such a great experience. We partnered with a local church down there to build a house, and that whole journey was so amazing. Also the culture down there was a bit of a different lifestyle. The organization I went with was Young Life, a youth ministry. We had partnered with a local church in Choluteca, Honduras, that does many o

Liberty Friez and Kayden Schmitcke pose for a photo with other members of their mission group. The previous Mystician Editor, Kayden Schmitcke, and I recently arrived back from a two-week long mission trip to Stuttgart, Germany. Apparently, it is the month of mission trips. We went with an organization called Couriers for Christ located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Twice a year, Couriers picks a city in Europe, contacts the local missionary, and plans a campaign. These campaigns

I love eating out at different places, from burger joints, pasta places, chinese places, and even corndog places. So when it comes to choosing a favorite fast food place it gets difficult. After some consideration though, I can list the top three of my favorite fast food places in the Bismarck and Mandan area, with my first being Chick-Fil-A, my second being Taco Bell, and my third is Dairy Queen. My two honorable mentions are Subway and Pancheros. They were really close co

With the semester coming to a close and summer break imminent, here are some books to pick up this summer. All either Liberty, Kayden, or Sophia approved. The Cruel Prince - Holly Black The Screaming Staircase - Jonathan Stroud Unwind - Neal Shusterman Cinder - Marissa Meyer The Summer Hikaru Died (Sophia suggestion) - Mokumokuren Killers of the Flower Moon - David Grann My Lady Jane - Cynthia Hand, Brodi Ashton, and Jodi Meadows Renegades - Marissa Meyer A River Enchanted -

This academic year has been a Ride! We saw: our beautiful collection boxed up and returned, though it took quite a few months! new shelving, carpet, and office furniture installed. students, faculty, and staff from all over campus seriously discuss banned and challenged books. nearly 50 people of all ages attempt the Halloween Escape Room: The Mystery in the Static. everyone devour and explore our databases, books, and records with an excited fervor. over 300 students par

A resident of the Dakota Cat Café hangs out in a cozy nook and says hello to lounge visitors. To the southeast of Bismarck, in the town of Lincoln, a cozy café is filled with the sounds of coffee steamers, small talk, and … meowing? The Dakota Cat Café opened for business on Dec. 16, 2025. It offers visitors a place to drink coffee while getting their fill of kitty time. Ashley Kneavel is the owner and founder of the café. She was inspired to create a cat café in North Dako

Musician Justin Payne will be visiting Bismarck on June 30 for a performance at the Laughing Sun Brewery. With a mix of country twang and alternative rock, Justin Alan Payne will bring his unique style to the Laughing Sun Brewery on June 30. Payne is an alt country/alt rock musician hailing from Nashville, Tenn. From Ohio to Texas to Illinois, this rocker has been around. Born in Newark, Ohio, Payne grew up playing classical music, starting the violin when he was about fou

North Dakota Filmmaker Justin Deegan takes part in an interview with Mystic Media, discussing his creative career and lifelong passion for film. North Dakota is known for its plains and farms, but there are also many film lovers and aspiring directors in the state. Justin Deegan is a filmmaker from Bismarck who has worked on eight TV shows and films, including the Hulu docuseries “Vow Of Silence: The Assassination of Annie Mae.” Justin has been working with film for years, b

Student will don their caps and gowns on May 15 at the first graduation ceremony in the Bavendick Center. Graduating can be incredibly overwhelming for students as much as it is an exciting feeling to be so close to the finish line. Luckily, Bismarck State College has a multitude of resources and amenities for graduating Mystics. Here are some of the top tips that Mystics should know about graduating. For starters, finish strong. That may seem easier said than done, but it

I attended the first showing of the Bismarck State College Theatre Department’s production of “Frozen: The Musical.” Last year, I had watched their last performance of “Anastasia” in the Sidney J. Lee Auditorium, so this was the first time I had seen a musical performance in the Advanced Technology Center’s Live Event Venue. I went to the musical with a friend and brought my boyfriend and his mom along. Although I am not the biggest fan of the movie “Frozen,” I was excited