It’s Snowing!

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Shorah and a very Merry Holidays from the Mysterium Team!

Happy Holidays from the Mysterium Team! Cozy scene with curled up Flame cat and a mangree wearing a santa hat by a fire with snow outside.

We have some fantastic announcements for you today.

Dates

We have locked in the dates for 2026! Mysterium will be held on July 24-26, 2026. Mark your calendars!

Hotels

We are thrilled to announce that we will have Mysterium 2026 at the DoubleTree Hotel by Lloyd Center.

A booking link will be available soon, so stay tuned for that, but in the meantime, here are some details of the hotel.

  • Room rates are $139/night
  • Includes free parking
  • Includes free hot breakfast buffet (for up to two people/room. After that, the cost is approximately $18/per person)
  • Has a pool
  • Free wifi

Location Page

Now that we have the hotel contract signed, we have updated the Location Page to include additional information, such as directions to the hotel, food options in and around the hotel, and more.

Creativity Prompts

October/November’s prompt winner is this delightful image drawn by Anna.

That wraps up 2025! We wish you an amazing and cozy holiday season filled with snow and fireplaces.

We’ll see you in the new year!

 

Kelly & Drea

2026 Mysterium co-chairs

We Have Lanyards!

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Shorah and hello!

Lanyard Design

Proof of concept. Lanyards do not come with an Eric.

We’re thrilled to announce that we have lanyard designs ready to go for Mysterium 2026!

These lanyards feature the carpet pattern from the Portland Airport. A perfect addition to your travel needs.

Now, you may be thinking, “What in tarnation does the PDX carpet pattern have to do with Haven?!” Well, technically, nothing. However, it does have a bit of a cult following as well as its own Wikipedia page. And here at the MTA, our goal is to provide a great travel experience, which means memorable, local souvenirs!

Each registration comes with one lanyard. However, additional lanyards from this year, as well as previous year,s will be available for purchase at the registration desk. 

Submissions

Submissions are still open! We’re very much looking forward to seeing your events, art, and T-Shirt and/or Pin designs. As always, you can head on over to the Submissions portal to, well, submit something! 

Hotels

Before anyone gets too excited, we’re not quite ready to announce a hotel location yet. However, we’ve gotten quite a few amazing responses from local hotels, and we’re hard at work looking through what they’ve sent us. As soon as we have one, we’ll update you immediately. 

Creativity Prompts

Fall is here, and the holidays are right around the corner. November’s creativity prompt is still open for a few more days!

We look forward to seeing what kinds of creativity y’all have for us!

In the meantime, we’re wishing everyone a fantastic day of good food and great company in whatever manner you are able to celebrate! 

 

Kelly & Drea

2026 Mysterium co-chairs

P.S. We see you out there, looking for hints. Looking for clues. We see you, and we love you. 🙂

F is for Fall and Fun Festivities!

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Shorah and hello!
Fall is here, and we have some great stuff we want to share with you! (And a sneak peek at some room decorations that we’re working on.)

 

Portland Travel Page

The Location page on the website has been updated to reflect a pretty robust list of some really fun things to do when visiting Portland next year.

You’ll notice multiple lists, as things have been broken into categories. Sites you can easily access via public transportation, sites that require a car, and sites that require at least a full day.

We will be adding a list of restaurants and such to that page once we have the hotel contract signed.

Submission Reminders

Submissions are open! We are still accepting submissions for the following:

  • T-shirt designs both front and back
  • Enamel pins
  • Events
  • Activity book pages

Yes, we’ll be printing an activity book this year! So if you have some ideas for that, now’s the time to make it happen. Please head on over to the submissions hub for more detailed information and how to send in your entry for any of the categories.

Prompt Winners

We love the creativity from the community, and the stuff you guys submit is amazing.

August’s prompt winners are:

Written: Khrees (http://www.eldalamberon.com/dni_dict.htm) for 

D’ni Bubbles

.buhbeltee d’nee
treglahstahv
bahreleet zoo biv
k’tsee mot tsahv
.buhbeltee d’nee
bahreleet zoo tahmet
terthkahnradtahv roo dotsahr be
taygahn shem brezuh tso gor
.met kenen breseren pe
rebirahno khoyoo
gah kenen erthbigto b’rish
khe shem gah zoo
.buhbeltee d’nee
treglahstahv
bahreleet zoo biv
k’tsee mot tsahv
.buhbeltee d’nee
bahreleet zoo tahmet
terthkahnradtahv roo dotsahr be
taygahn shem brezuh tso gor

Translation:

D’ni bubbles in the wine (lit. ‘drink’)
make me all happy that I’m alive.
D’ni bubbles make me warm (lit. ‘full of fire’)
with a feeling (lit. ‘thought’) that I’m going to
love you till the end of time.
This is to the moon (lit. ‘light’) above the sea I invoke
and mostly this a toast (lit. ‘blessing’) for you and me.
D’ni bubbles in the wine
make me all happy that I’m alive.
D’ni bubbles make me warm
with a feeling that I’m going to
love you till the end of time.

Visual: Nina (https://bsky.app/profile/monkiinart.bsky.social) for

And September’s winner is:

Jet for

More updates will be posted soon. Have a great weekend!

Kelly & Drea

2026 Mysterium co-chairs

Keep Mysterium Weird

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Shorah and hello!

We are so excited to bring Mysterium to Portland, Oregon for 2026. We’re already rolling on the planning and are thrilled about some of the fun things we have planned for this coming year.


Credits: Local celebrity, the Unipiper, playing flaming bagpipes, shows the heart of Portland.

2026 Theme Announcement

The theme this year is Haven, the prison age from Myst IV: Revelation. It seemed appropriate, as Portland is a temperate rainforest.

MTA

The MTA will be returning to Mysterium this year! First launched in 2017, the MTA stands for Mysterium Travel Agency (or the Mysterium Transit Authority, depending on the day) and it focuses on a bit of a travel agency theme. So, while the theme is Haven, expect a bit of travel agency vibes to accompany it this year.

Submissions

Submissions are open! We are now accepting submissions for the following:

  • T-shirt designs for both front and back
  • Enamel pins
  • Events
  • Activity book pages
  • Writing and Art Table

Yes, we’ll be printing an activity book this year! So if you have some ideas for that, now’s the time to make it happen. Please head on over to the submissions hub for more detailed information and how to send in your entry for any of the categories.

Downloadables

We’ve added the puzzle packet from 2025 to the downloadables page on our website! Head on over if you’d like a challenge.

We’ve got so much fun stuff in store for you this year!

Have a great weekend!

Kelly & Drea
2026 Mysterium co-chairs

Farewell, Big Chicken

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Hello everyone!

It is with mixed feelings that we bid farewell to Mysterium 2025 and Atlanta. We had a marvelous time and are so glad to see that you all did too.

Survey Highlights

Thank you to everyone who completed our 2025 feedback survey. Responses were quite positive, though we’d like to highlight a few trends:

  • We apologize for cutting the Unconference session, which we know many of you were looking forward to. While we did not wish to cut it, multiple factors regarding the Georgia Aquarium excursion contributed to the difficult decision. We look forward to continuing to offer an Unconference or similar-format event in future years.
  • We’re so happy to see that people enjoyed our activities this year. While panels or presentations may not always be available each year, we aim to balance scheduled activity- and presentation-based content to the best of our ability.
  • Excursions continue to be popular, and we will continue to showcase local attractions or activities that are unique, interactive, and Cyan-like. We see that Myst-inspired, outdoor excursions are in-demand and hope to include one next year.

YouTube Videos

2025’s session recordings are now available on our YouTube channel. You can find them all in the Mysterium 2025 Playlist.

Mysterium 2026

With Atlanta (and the big chicken) in our rear view mirror, it’s time to get ready for Portland, Oregon next year! While specific dates won’t be announced for some time, we’ll see you all in July or August.

Leading the charge are our two co-chairs:

Headshot of Andrea "m13" Mountain

Andrea Mountain (m13)

Andrea “m13” Mountain (they/them) has been part of the Myst community for twenty years. Joining the committee in 2011 to run the Rebelsterium when it appeared there would be no official convention, they never left the role behind. In their spare time they enjoy writing, playing video games and coming up with complicated puzzles to torture, or… challenge, their Mysterium family every year.

Headshot of Kelly "Rayne" Coston

Kelly Coston (Rayne)

Kelly hails from the Pacific Northwest and has been drawing since she could crawl. Her days are usually filled with coffee, running a small business, and making a variety of shiny things. Her evenings are usually filled with husband or cat snuggles and video games. A long-time Myst fan, she discovered her Myst family in 2014 and quickly joined the staff as the primary Creator of All Things Pretty and the Tormenter of Attendees on the Puzzle Team. She and the other members of the Puzzle Team are looking forward to tormenting attendees with brain melting puzzles this year!

Creativity Prompt Update

We are currently accepting votes for August’s Creativity Prompt theme, “Bubbles,” and submissions for September’s theme, “Round,” on Discord. Be sure to check it out!

 

Thank you, once again, to everyone who attended in-person and via Twitch. We look forward to seeing everyone back, including this year’s newcomers, in Portland!

With a fond farewell,

Curator and Drew
Mysterium 2025 Co-Chairs