Allegheny Township’s Rosalie Casper spent a few weeks working on her stage presence before her debut pageant appearance Sunday at Little Italy Days in Pittsburgh’s Bloomfield neighborhood. That’s all the preparation the 5-year-old needed. Rosalie was named Miss Little Italy in the 4-to-6-year-old division at the region’s largest annual festival celebrating all things Italian.

Rosalie had all the motivation she needed when she heard about the competition and the large trophy that goes to the winner. “I love trophies. I was like, I can do this,” Rosalie said Tuesday. Rosalie, who begins kindergarten this week at Kiski North Primary School, was the first of 30 contestants to step onto the stage Sunday. “I was surprised at how poised and confident she was,” said her mother, Cassandra. “She has no pageant training.”