The annual Little Miss Dorchester and Young Miss Dorchester contests will be held on Sat., May 13 at First Parish Dorchester on Meetinghouse Hill. The competitions are open to girls ages 7-9 and 10-12, respectively. The winners and all contestants are invited to participate in the Dorchester Day Parade on June 4.

Contestants must complete an application and write a brief Dorchester-themed essay that they will be asked to read or recite at the contest, which is open to Dorchester residents only.. Applicants can find the form at dotdayparade.org.

Last week, the Reporter talked with longtime contest organizer Annissa Essaibi George, a former Boston city councillor and mayoral candidate, about the contest, which she says is “more in the spirit of a celebration of Dorchester.”

Q. How did you begin your affiliation with the contest?

A. I got involved when my sister Sonya became Little Miss Dorchester. I was probably 19 years old and my mother would be like, oh, come to the meatloaf supper. And I was like, all right, I guess I’ll go.

[The late] Joe Chaisson was involved back in the day and so I remember talking to him at one of the events. He goes, ‘You should come to the Dorchester Day Celebrations Committee meeting.’ Joe Chaisson sort of sucked me into all of these things.

And people would just assume, ‘oh, you must have been Little Miss Dorchester.’ I did run for Little Miss Dorchester as a little kid myself, probably seven, eight years old, whatever I was. But, no, that crown has eluded me my entire life [laughs]. But my sister was, and, because of that, it drew me into some of these wonderful celebrations that continue all of these years later.

Q. You ask the current Little Miss or Young Miss Dorchester to do the “q-and-a” with the young people?

A. That to me is exciting to sit back and sort of watch the contest, that really is in the end a celebration of Dorchester. And although we do pick one Little Miss and a Young Miss, we do invite all of the girls to participate. It truly is a celebration of our community and recognizing strong essay writers, recognizing strong presentation and public speaking skills.

As someone who has spoken publicly a lot over the course of my career, I never thought about doing it at seven or eight years old. These girls accomplished things that I never did at that young age. So, I’m impressed by that and impressed by them.

And because the essay is about, in essence what is special about Dorchester, their answers are both very personal. The relationship with a grandparent or an aunt or a neighbor, or about an experience playing soccer at Pope John Paul, going for a walk, having an ice cream, knitting at the Stitch House. Those are all fantastic moments in a young person’s life. And to give an opportunity for them to share that for a moment in time is pretty cool.

Q. What’s your pitch to both the kids and the parents who may not be familiar with the contest and might want to consider doing it this year?

A. If you are making Dorchester your home and a part of your life, this is just another thing in which to engage. It is not a beauty contest, although every girl who participates is very much beautiful. It is really a celebration of our community and the best that we have to showcase as a neighborhood.

Little Miss Dorchester also receives a sash and a crown and a trophy. But they also get a cape that they’re given for a year. We’ve retired a couple of capes over the years. Their names gets embroidered on the inside. I have looked at the old cape in the year I didn’t win, but that’s at the Historical Society now, on beautiful display.

And you get to ride in the parade, usually in a convertible! And that’s pretty cool.