Beyond food and chai, Maison Chasha also holds cultural events and activities, from open mic nights to jam sessions for artists in the community.

When you come to Chinatown, you dont feel like an outsider. You feel like youre part of a community, says May Chiu, activist and advocate for her Montreal neighbourhood.

Mary Grace Ocampo is the president of the Filipino Nurses' Association of Quebec, a nurse at the Montreal Neurological Institute-Hospital and a mother of three.But wearing so many hats doesn't stop Ocampo from working hard to help someone in need.

Maryam Nadimi is a Montreal-based artist and biologist. She grew up in Iran and moved to Montreal for her PhD in genetics at the Universit de Montral. She now holds workshops where she teaches tazhib, a traditional form of Islamic Iranian art.