Students begin asking dates to Night of the Stars formal

Fresno Christian formal, known as Night of the Stars (NOTS), takes place this year on a Friday evening, April 6. The night’s venue is Wolf Lakes and will feature student made movies, awards, games and dinner. NOTS proposals can be extremely elaborate or super simple.

Former leadership advisor and current art teacher Vickey Belmont explains some of the pressures of asking a girl to NOTS. Belmont was involved in the leadership class for four years before her transition to art.

“We used to give out two free tickets for the most creative ways a guy asked a girl,” Belmont said. “The purpose was to promote the night. Many people got very extravagant with the ways they asked girls because they wanted to win the two free tickets. The free tickets also expedited the process of NOTS.

“There have been many flashy ways guys have asked girls,” Belmont continued. “The biggest asking I remember was when Bobby Christopher carved out ‘NOTS?’ in a field and then flew a girl over the field in a helicopter. Other than that, people have filled cars with balloons and even brought in animals like a goat before.

“I think asking a girl can be very scary for the guys,” Belmont continued. “For many, it is there first time and it can be daunting because they are putting themselves out there. The guys want to be apart of a school function but it can be scary. I would encourage them to go for it though.”

Even though the leadership class is on the heels of announcing NOTS, asking may happen anytime. A few students jumped on it early and asked the date of their choice.

One of the first NOTS. askings took place, Feb. 6. Sophomore Mason Blowers asked freshman Caleigh Alday. Blowers explains the process and his emotions.

“I asked Caleigh to NOTS,” Blowers said. “It happened in the gym and involved lots of roses and posters. I even got her parents involved and each of them gave her a flower. I have been planning this for about a month and thankfully she never found out. She was very excited and completely surprised.

“I come from a public school, Clovis High, and there everyone was big about asking people,” Blowers continued. “I didn’t want to keep it hidden, I wanted to be outgoing and show that I really like her. There are many different ways guys can ask girls though. It all depends on what they want the feeling to be, romantic, funny or just friendly.”

Formal asking has changed drastically over the past years. Now instead of making a simple phone call or asking in person guys stress about being creative and unique.

The times have changed. Alumnus Dr. Sam Hinton, ‘92, shares his NOTS experiences from high school. Hinton also gives his opinion on the way guys ask girls today.

“The way students ask each other to formal seems like a bigger process than it needs to be,” Hinton said. “Sure it can be cute for

social media pictures but it requires a lot of pre-planning. The person you want to ask may already have been asked by the time you make them a sign and plan something creative.

’s easier to ask with a sign for some people instead of saying it out loud. It takes guts to ask in person without a sign.”

Overcoming his fear of rejection and self-doubts, Reece Trevino, ‘19, asked his date last year with an Extra Gum themed poster. Trevino encourages guys to be courageous and confident when asking a girl to formal.

“It was nerve-racking at first asking my date to the prom,” Trevino said. “I was really nervous because of the fear of rejection and the possibility that she wouldn’t like my poster idea. I was definitely happy I asked her to formal.”

Last year, the freshmen dominated, winning seven awards as seen in the following Feather tweet from last year.

NOTS2017 – seven awards go to freshman including Parent Choice while Best Picture awarded to seniors. #nots pic.twitter.com/wuaG5K90qy

— The Feather Online (@thefeather) April 23, 2017

The Feather would appreciate any videos of students creatively asking for a NOTS date. The following video is one such iPhone video. NOTS tickets are now on sale in the high school office, in the leadership room and at lunch. For more information or questions concerning the upcoming event, contact leadership advisors Robert Foshee and Aubri Foster in rooms 608 and 604.

NOTS will be held at Wolf Lakes, April 6. Look out for announcement on Feb. 13, regarding ticket sales and costs as the night approaches and do not wait for the last minute to ask your date.

For more information on the history of Night of the Stars, be sure to check out The Feather archive section in the left menu bar. Type NOTS or Night of the Stars for more articles, including Suggestion creates NOTS tradition.

For more articles read, A day in the life of a photojournalist and Faculty spotlight: Aubri Foster.

The author can be reached via email: Braden Bell, Instagram and Twitter.