Three Alle-Kiski Valley girls with no previous pageant experience recently swept the Little Miss Italy competition in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood.
Hadassah Cardaro, 10, of New Kensington; Mariah Kaiser, 13, of Lower Burrell; and Rosalie Casper, 5, of Allegheny Township were crowned Little Miss Italy in their respective age divisions during the annual pageant during Little Italy Days on Aug. 22.
The pageant returned this summer after the festival was canceled in 2020 because of the covid-19 pandemic.
“I’m not even Italian,” said Kaiser, 13. “This was my first competition since covid shut everything down for me as a competitive baton twirler.”
Kaiser, an eighth-grader at Huston Middle School, said she did her own makeup but enlisted a friend as hairstylist. She donned a fancy dress already hanging in her closet for her first pageant.
Shannon Ofchinick, Kaiser’s mom, said the pageant was a positive experience for her daughter.
“We were super proud. She spoke so beautifully, and I think confidence comes naturally to her,” Ofchinick said.
Kaiser said she posted a tiara-themed photo to her Snapchat after being crowned Little Miss Italy in the 13-to-17-year-old category.
Little Italy Days is the region’s largest annual festival celebrating all things Italian.
But pageant director Marianne Rieg, of West Deer, said contestants don’t need to be of Italian heritage to compete. She takes pride in offering a pageant that’s accessible to any girl — not just the typically trained pageant contestant.
“This is for any young person who wants to display their confidence and have their relatives enjoy viewing them in a public event with no intense criteria,” said Rieg, who owns Twirl Time Studio in Tarentum.
Rieg was a top-10 finalist for the 1992 Miss Pennsylvania Miss America Pageant.
But said she created Little Miss Italy different from most pageants.
“The spirit of the pageant is to celebrate our children, our families and our communities,” Rieg said.
The pageant is in its seventh year as one of the festival’s major attractions.
“It brings in more than 50 contestants and hundreds of spectators,” Rieg said. “The primary goal is to encourage guests to enjoy the entertainment, food and pastries while supporting the vendors and small businesses in Bloomfield.”
Contestants can wear the outfit of their choice and answer questions onstage during the competition.
The winners were selected by four non-professional pageant judges. The entrance fee is $25.
Cardaro, who was crowned winner in the 10-12 age category, said she’s normally shy. She said her pageant gig made her “nervous, but was super exciting at the same time.”
Cardaro is a fifth-grader at Mary Queen of Apostles Catholic School. She bought a formal dress from Amazon online and customized it.
“It had custom Italian bows in the Italian colors on the back,” Cardaro said. “I wore my tiara after winning to a fair, and people were congratulating me.”
Hadassah’s mom, Lori Cardaro, said she wore waterproof mascara “just in case” while watching her daughter onstage.
“I asked her the last four years if she wanted to compete, and she said no. This year she came to me and asked. I thought it would be good for her and a confidence builder. It was a happy mom moment,” Cardaro said.
The Trib previously reported on Rosalie Casper’s win. Casper is the youngest Alle-Kiski Valley resident of the winning trio.
Casper won in the 4-6 year-old age division and is a kindergartner at Kiski North Primary School.
All of the contestants received a trophy for participating, and the crowned winners received an additional trophy, flowers, sash and tiara to keep.
The girls will represent Little Miss Italy by participating in various upcoming events and parades in their respective communities.
After being crowned, Hadassah Cardaro celebrated by wearing her tiara out to dinner at Olive Garden.
She said her pageant experience helped her in another area of interest.
“A small goal of mine is to try acting. The challenging part of the pageant was the talking part. I practiced a lot,” Hadassah said.
Giovanna Barone of Baldwin was crowned Little Miss Italy in the 7-to-9-year-old age division.
For Rieg, the pageant continues to bring awareness on community pride.
“Many pageant organizations today prey on parents financially and give such grandiose titles that often the community festivals are forgotten,” Rieg said.
Rieg ends every pageant by saying, “That’s amore. Now please go buy some cannolis!”