The more we know about each other and our cultures, the more we get out of living life! Sharing about each other´s culture is sharing another way of living - another way of eating or having fun, for example. It´s also walking in someone else´s shoes for a day.

I've been working in the arts for over 10 years now and volunteering for a small literary magazine for 7. I am often frustrated by the fact that it so difficult to sustain the publication. We subsist on grants and volunteer efforts, and we publish new Canadian female authors. For many of them, it's their first big break, and many of the people we have published over the years have gone on to hugely successful literary careers. But it's so difficult to develop a broader readership. Does no one value Canadian literature anymore? It's so difficult to get people to support the magazine by buying a subscription. I think we should all place more value on the arts!

Vancouver's South Asian community is celebrating the festival of light from Oct. 16-22. I've never attended -- but this could be the year!