Paint and Sip, Northwest Week, hypnotist highlight SAC spring calendar

(Updated: Jan. 30, 2026)

Northwest Missouri State University’s Student Activities Council (SAC) has announced its lineup of campus events this spring, giving students and community members new ways to unwind.

Northwest students participated in SAC craft night last fall. (Photo by Chloe Timmons/Northwest Missouri State University)

SAC sponsored goat yoga at the Memorial Bell Tower last year and is hosting a “Dogs and Kats” event in April. (Photo by Lilly Cook/Northwest Missouri State University)

SAC plans and administers activities to contribute to a more well-rounded social, recreational and cultural life for the campus and community. The student-led organization organizes late-night activities and events throughout the year, including concerts, lectures, movies and comedians.

“SAC provides fun ways for students to come together, get involved and to enjoy fun experiences with their friends,” said Maggie Wiedrich, a junior from Gretna, Nebraska, who is majoring in business administration and managerial accounting and serves as SAC president. “I think that’s really important to create community on campus.”

SAC’s spring lineup began with Cosmic Bowling on Jan. 29, at Bearcat Lanes in Maryville. In February, the organization will accept its annual Flowergram orders Feb. 4-6 and host its “Paint and Sip with SAC” event from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 21, in the J.W. Jones Student Union.

The University’s annual Northwest Week returns March 16-20 with a T-shirt giveaway, “Picnic Palooza” and a “make-n-take” event. The week also will feature therapeutic hypnotist Evan Gambardella, who is returning to Northwest for a performance at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 19, in the Charles Johnson Theater at the Olive DeLuce Fine Arts Building; the event is free and open to the public.

SAC will host a movie night from 8 to 11 p.m. Friday, March 27, in the Carl and Cheryl Hughes Fieldhouse.

Concluding its spring lineup, SAC will sponsor “Dogs and Kats,” from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Thursday, April 9, at the Memorial Bell Tower. The event will invite dogs from the New Nodaway Humane Society to visit with students while Kool Kats supplies sweet treats.

Therapeutic hypnotist Evan Gambardella performed at Northwest last year and is returning on March 19. (Photo by Lilly Cook/Northwest Missouri State University)

SAC names new officers for 2026

As president, Wiedrich leads a new team of SAC officers who have been appointed for the 2026 calendar year. Other officers are:

• Vice President of Recruitment and Retention Mackenzie Richards, a freshman therapeutic recreation major from Corning, Iowa
• Vice President of Inclusion and Outreach Alex Morse, a sophomore business administration major from Kearney, Missouri
• Director of Marketing and Promotions Phillip Motazedi, a junior digital media major from Joplin, Missouri
• Director of Lecture Paris Hamilton, a sophomore political science and pre-law major from Kansas City
• Director of Late Night and Weekend Programming Emersyn Holthouse, a freshman public relations major from Kansas City, Missouri
• Director of Traditions Olivia Owen, a junior social media management major from Liberty, Missouri.

Katelyn Briggs, a senior psychology major from Eagleville, Missouri, who served as SAC’s president for 2025, is supporting the organization as a graduate assistant during 2026.

SAC meets at 5 p.m. on Thursdays in the Student Union Boardroom; meetings are open to all Northwest students.

For more information about SAC activities, call 660.562.1226 or send an email to sacga@nwmissouri.edu.