Alma Deutscher, a sixteen-year-old girl from England who created her first musical work at age six, first short opera at age seven, and first full-length opera based on Cinderella at age ten, is anything but average. Though her parents downplayed (淡化) her extraordinary talent, young Alma is being described as “little Mozart” by the music world.

Alma’s opera based on the classic fairy tale, which she began writing at age eight, has a slight twist. Her Cinderella is a musician who meets her Prince Charming, a poet through a song.“In my Cinderella, she sings the beginning of a ballad (情歌)—but at midnight she runs away. Eventually, the prince finds her after asking all the girls of the country to sing the end of the ballad.”

The opera was first performed in Vienna, Austria on December 29, 2016, where the then eleven-year-old skillfully changed between the piano and the violin and received enthusiastic reviews. The young genius has since performed two new piano works, one in Australia and the other in China.

Alma’s musical talent first came to light before she could even talk. However, Alma’s abilities only gained international attention in 2012, after a family friend posted a video online comparing her to Mozart. The family was suddenly filled with media and Alma became an overnight star. The nickname “Little Mozart” makes her parents unhappy because they believe it puts added pressure on the young girl. They would instead prefer her to be called “a composer and musician”.

Alma does not want to be compared to the famous artist either, saying “There was only one Mozart, and I prefer to be little Alma”. Regardless of what she calls herself, the sixteen-year old is changing the world of music forever!

It’s “Baby Day” at the Riverpark seniors home in Ottawa—a twice monthly event Eulah Johnson, 90, never misses.“I really enjoy it. It's a shift from the regular routine,” says the retired nurse.

Today, Johnson sits on a sofa and looks at a laughing child on the seat of her walker. A few moments later, the girl skips off to play with the dozen or so other small children and babies mixed with 20 of Johnson’s fellow residents.

Some, like 12-month-old Owen, are regular visitors to Ottawa seniors’ homes.“We’ve been doing this since he was three months old,” says his mother, Allison Rodgers, 33.

She loves the social calls, too.“I didn't have grandparents while growing up. It’s nice to spend time with older people, and it feels good to know they re betting so much out of it.”

Babies Who Volunteer, the initiative (倡议) bringing these generations together, is the inspired idea of Jessica Turner, a former educational assistant. The idea came about during a March 2018 visit with her 22-month-old daughter Amelia to a friend’s mother, who was living in a long-term-care unit. She was most surprised by the response of her friend's mother; she hadn’ t spoken in two years, but with Amelia in her lap, she began singing. Turner went home and immediately put out a call on a mums’ Facebook group: Would anyone be interested in dropping by seniors’ residences with their babies?

A year later, there are now 1,500 volunteers, and the organization visits 39 homes in Ottawa. Everyone benefits from intergenerational programmes, she says.“This playgroup is good for the mothers, too. They’re giving something to the community, which provides a sense of purpose and belonging. It can really help someone who is feeling lonely.”

Sunday Bakeshop in Oakland, California, makes foods that mix American and Asian cultures. The restaurant makes foods that are cooked or baked in an oven. Many of them are sweet. For example, the shop sells something called a dim sum cookie. It looks like a sugar cookie but has sesame (芝麻) seeds on top and sweetened red beans inside. Dim sum is a word for Cantonese foods from southern China.

The dim sum cookie is Elaine Lau’s way of honoring her grandmother who would make a kind of food that had a similar taste. Lau’s restaurant also makes Chinese White Rabbit candy cookies. Those sweets would not be found in any bakery in Asia but are a mixture of Asian and Western foods. Lau said she speaks to Asian Americans and others at her store. She said, “We get a lot of comments, for example, ‘The cookies are just like little lovely kitties and puppies.’ ‘Oh this took me back to several years ago when I was growing up.’” She added that it was nice to create good memories and feelings with her pastries (糕点).

Bakeries that combine the feeling of growing-up Asians and Americans have been opening up more often in recent years. Traditional Asian ingredients are being mixed with European or American pastries into something new. The creations are a way for young Asian Americans to celebrate their identity.

“Older traditional Asian bakeries make foods that immigrants (移民) miss from their home country. The new bakeries celebrate Asian culture and are part of a natural progression,” said Robert Ku, who is an Asian American studies professor at Binghamton University in New York state. He also wrote the book Dubious Gastronomy: The Cultural Politics of Eating Asian in the USA.

“The bakers are showing that their foods, which mix cultures, are just as American as apple pie. It’s sort of the artistic side of Asian American identity that's often ignored,” Ku said. “They’re instead really trying to combine things together.”