Stephanie Freeman didn’t know the theme of the Red and White Charity Ball when she arrived at the Alumni Center on Friday evening. The graduate student said it was coincidence when she chose to wear a headdress she purchased for Mardi Gras in Washington D.C. a few years ago.

With this year’s masquerade theme, however, she fit right in.

“A lot of people actually did have their own masks,” Allison McCarn, organizer of the event, said.

McCarn, a senior in physics, said a small committee chose the masquerade theme.

“I figured that more than anything, it would be a decoration theme,” she said.

In accordance with both the masquerade and red and white themes, Michael Hester, who said he helped to plan the ball, created his own costume.

He said he used a pattern he found online to guide him as he sewed a red cape. Hester also wore a white mask that covered half of his face, because he was inspired by The Phantom of the Opera, he said.

“It would be nice if everyone wore red and white,” he said.

But, attendees came in a variety of colors and attire.

Cristin Babka wore a red and black dress that she usually dons for Renaissance fairs, she said.

“It’s the only dress I own,” she said.

The Union Activities Board co-sponsored the event for the first time with Students Today Alumni Tomorrow, according to Kyle Fox, a graduate assistant for Campus Activities.

“[The co-sponsorship] has been a really great fit,” he said.

McCarn said STAT played a role in reserving space in the Alumni Center for the ball, as well as assisting with set up.

After attending last year’s ball, Tiffany Wong,a junior in biological sciences, said she preferred the Alumni Center to the previous venue.

“Last year, we had [the ball] at Vaughn Towers,” Hester said. “This is much nicer.”

Paul DeNard, a senior in civil engineering, also was positive about the facilities.

“The dance floor was larger than I anticipated,” he said. “I liked the fact that I could dance upstairs as well. It was a nice setting.”

In comparison to last year’s ball, ticket sales were almost double, according to Fox.

McCarn said nearly 300 students bought tickets, which they paid for in cash or with four canned foods each — the proceeds of which went to the Big 4 Can Food Drive.

McCarn said she was pleased with the event overall.

“The dance floor seemed like it was always full,” she said.

True to Cinderella form, the ball ended at midnight. A continuous shuttle transported attendees from Talley Student Center to Centennial Campus.