The Riverside Fox Theater, located in downtown Riverside, was home to California Baptist University’s annual Woofest Feb. 17, where the men of CBU showed off their skills and talents in an attempt to “woo” the women of CBU.
Inspired by “James Bond” franchise films, the theme of the night was “007” and encouraged those who attended the event to break out their nicest, most lavish outfits.
Melissa Filmore, resident director of Simmons Hall, said her dress was inspired by a mix of the location and theme of the event.
“The theme was James Bond, so I figured it had to be classy, but still a little fun,” Filmore said.
Kristin Nyquist, junior instrumental performance major, said nice outfits do not have to be expensive and wore a $6 dress she found at Target that perfectly portrayed the classy theme of “James Bond.”
“I wanted to go for the black and gold look because it’s James Bond, and I wanted a little mystery,” Nyquist said.
Nyquist said she was pleased with the outfit she wore and added it is something she will wear in the future.
The men of CBU also took the opportunity to dress up for the event.
For Jesse Gandt, sophomore exercise science and piano performance double major, most of his inspiration was aimed to epitomize his performance.
Gandt rocked out on stage wearing white pants, a white shirt, brown belt, black shoes and a blue blazer.
“The performing inspired it,” Gandt said. “I watched a lot of Freddy Mercury, Roger Daltrey and Justin Bieber on YouTube to get and idea on how to be a good lead singer and I noticed they loved to wear exotic stuff too. They stood out because of that.”
Gandt said he wanted to stand out from the rest of his band which is why he decided to wear the white pants.
Nicholas Worrell, senior Christian studies major and host of the evening, sported a maroon bow tie, maroon suspenders, a white button-down shirt and slacks.
Worrell said he wanted to wear something that pertained to the theme of the Fox Theater.
“I wanted to try and adapt as well as I could to the Fox Theater, so I went for it with the suspenders and bow tie,” Worrell said.
No matter the fashion, WooFest attendees dressed to impress, whether in a ball gown style dress or their favorite tux. The luxe atmosphere of the crowd set the tone for an evening of class and formal entertainment, complimenting the venue’s historic and theatric aura, which has graced Riverside for years.