The annual Little Miss/Young Miss Dorchester contest was held May 14 at the First Parish Church on Meetinghouse Hill. The event is held each year in the spring for girls ages 7 to 12.  The purpose of the event is to celebrate young girls in Dorchester.  

Little Miss Dorchester was awarded to Grace Foley, 9, a third grader at St. Brendan School.  Young Miss Dorchester was awarded to Ashley Tran, 13, a seventh grader at Boston Latin School.

The girls who participate are your average, young girls from Dorchester who genuinely love their community. The event is nothing at all like a beauty pageant.  

“The girls are able to share their pride for their community, speak in public, and show off their charm” said Annissa Essaibi-George, City Councillor At-large and the event organizer for the Little Miss/Young Miss Dorchester contest. 

Essaibi-George has been organizing the event for 15 years.  She loves hearing the young girls engage with the audience and the fact that they participate in the contest. 

Last year, Grace Foley was the first runner-up in the Little Miss division. She and decided to participate this year to see if she would win — and she did.

“My favorite part was when they announced the winner,” said Grace. 

Grace’s hobbies include archery, playing violin and lacrosse, and coloring and painting.  

Last year, Grace participated in the contest at her mother’s encouragement to give her a confidence boost.

“Speak loud, sit up straight, and make sure to be brave answering the questions,” is the advice from Grace to girls that plan to participate next year. She also wanted to warn participants for next year that there are other girls participating, but not to be nervous.

Ashley Tran — this year’s Young Miss Dorchester winner— loves to swim at the Dot House, plays the piano and dances. She is also a Girl Scout.

Ashley’s father, Jim Tran, said this was not her first time participating in this contest and that she decided to participate again because she really enjoys it and has lots of fun.
Ashley loves helping out in the community, he said.

Both girls are very excited about the biggest prize that comes with their titles: Riding in this Sunday’s Dot Day Parade.