If your summer plans in the Twin Cities could use a good story, this Saturday offers plenty of ways to find one. Meet a debut novelist inspired by Minnesota’s North Shore, celebrate Mexican-American culture at Chicano Fest, sample dishes from Black-owned food trucks and create art at the Walker Art Center. 

Channeling light at the Walker

While the July sun bears down on the Twin Cities this weekend, artists at the Walker are getting ready to “catch the light” for the Walker’s “Free First Saturday” series. 

Visitors can build a colorful light installation with photographer Drew Arrieta, create mini disco balls with lighting designer Boo McCaleb, and design faux stained-glass windows.

DJ Michel Be will spin music on the Terrace and Minneapolis Sculpture Garden tours depart from the Vineland Place entrance at 11:30 a.m., 1 and 3 p.m. 

A Minnesota mystery at a book fair

A Book Fair for Grown-Ups will bring 240 authors, bookstores, and publishers to the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on Saturday. 

Among the featured authors is Seema Tiwari, who will be showcasing her debut novel “Maa Maa Black Sheep.” The story follows Mary, a billionaire matriarch haunted by a decades-old secret. 

“Outwardly, Mary has everything,” Tiwari said. “She runs an empire of her own, she has a very loving husband and daughter. She has a niece who actually worships her. She has everything going for her except one secret that keeps gnawing at her soul.” 

The secret traces back to a car accident 30 years earlier that killed Mary’s sister in Grand Marais, Minn. 

“That location is very dear to me because I go on photography trips over there,” Tiwari said. “There’s this serenity about it — this calmness and mystery.” 

Before writing about secrets buried along Minnesota’s North Shore, Tiwari built a career in advertising in Mumbai, India, where she grew up. She moved to the United States in 2012 for her husband’s job in Chicago. The couple relocated to Minnesota a year later, where she found a supportive community that has shaped her creative work. 

Although “Maa Maa Black Sheep” is her first published novel, she has also created the audio drama “Love Thy Neighbor.” The series explores a conservative father’s relationship with his liberal daughter, and a Hindi poetry collection, “Bura Na Maano Democrazy Hai.”

Tiwari said she’s drawn to stories about family and the connections people build across cultures. That interest continues in her next project, a Minnesota-based trilogy that follows an Indian mother pursuing her dream of becoming an author. 

“It’s about sisterhood. It’s a tribute to all the friends I have made over here,” Tiwari said. “It doesn’t matter the color of our skin or whether we speak the same language or not, when you exchange notes with people on a human level, you realize there’s so much in common within all of us.” 

Tiwari is one of more than 140 writers appearing throughout the day. Readers can also browse comics from the Black-owned comic book company Nu World Comics, Afro-Indigenous stories from Mashkiki Studios, actor Kimberly Elise’s new book “The Caregiver’s Grace,” and local journalist Shayla Reaves’ children’s book “Echo in the Distance.”

Cumbia, corridos and car shows at Chicano Fest

The Twin Cities Chicano Fest will turn Saint Paul College into a hub of Mexican-American culture on Saturday. 

Rappers, solo artists and bands will perform R&B, hip-hop, cumbia and corridos on the festival’s main stage, while Kalpulli Huitzillin will present Aztec drum and dance routines. 

The festival will also feature a lowrider car show, a dog show, and competitions including eating contests and a cumbia dance-off. 

Stand-up comedy in an Asian supermarket

Ever seen a stand-up comic perform in a grocery aisle? Taiwanese-born Los Angeles-based comedian, podcaster and actor Jenny Yang is bringing her “Good Egg” tour to Minneapolis’ Shuang Hur Supermarket on Saturday. 

Yang, who will perform at 20 immigrant grocery stores in 20 cities across the United States, will share stories about growing up a goody-two-shoes, navigating immigrant parent dynamics, undergoing in vitro fertilization, and more. 

Show proceeds will raise money for the Immigrant Defense Network.

A Black Food Truck Festival in St. Paul

More than 30 food and drink vendors will gather at The Black Market on Saturday for the Black Food Truck Festival, serving everything from Jamaican and Ghanaian dishes to tacos and soul bowls. 

The event will also feature a marketplace of local Black-owned businesses, a juice bar, face painting, henna, cornhole and balloon art. 

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