Iraq Conference
April 18-19
Discuss the 10th anniversary of the U.S. war in Iraq. Several topics will be discussed, including Challenges and Consequences. Free. Cal State Fullerton, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton, Calif. Information: http://hss.fullerton.edu/events/intlconference.asp  for a full schedule

Spring Citrus Fair
April 18-21
Showcasing the history of the La Habra Valley. Entertainment, carnival rides, local food, exhibits and mascots. Free. La Habra Area Chamber of Commerce, 321 E. La Habra Blvd., La Habra, Calif. Information: (562) 697-1704.

Children’s Art Festival
April 19
Children and the whole family can enjoy many art forms. Free. 3:30-7 p.m. Walter D. Ehlers Community Recreation Center, 8150 Knott Ave., Buena Park, Calif. Information: http://www.buenapark.com/Index.aspx?page=97

2013 Spring Mixer
April 20
Project Viet Nam Foundation hosts the mixer. While networking, donate to the foundation, which supports medical projects in Viet Nam. Dress to impress (semi-formal) and bring lots of business cards to share. Light entertainment, finger food and drinks provided. 5:30-9:30 pm. 17322 Murphy Ave., Irvine, Calif. Tickets: [email protected] or (949) 244-7028.

Earth Week
Through April 21
Cal State Fullerton hosts a variety of Earth Week activities. Free. Cal State Fullerton, 800 N. State College Blvd., Fullerton, Calif. Information: http://news.fullerton.edu/2013sp/Earth-Week.asp for a full calendar of events.

Indiana Jones Exhibit
Through April 21
Walk in the footsteps of Indiana Jones and discover the world of archeology. The exhibit has props from the movie series and models provided by Lucasfilm Ltd. Archives. Games for children of all ages. Discovery Science Center, 2500 N. Main St., Santa Ana, Calif. Information: http://www.discoverycube.org/indianajones/

College Outreach Program
April 23
Designed for Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders to learn about how the college application process works, admission requirements, financial aid and registration for new-student orientation. Sponsored by Cal State Fullerton. 6-8:30 pm. Free. La Quinta High School, Lyceum Building, 10372 McFadden Ave., Westminster, Calif. Information: RSVP before April 19 at [email protected].

Newport Beach Film Festival
April 25-May 2
Screening of several premieres and galas for a singular festival experience. Information: (949) 253-2880 or http://www.newportbeachfilmfest.com/2013/.

YMCA Festival
April 27
YMCA of Orange County hosts an annual summer festival at various locations. Family games, food and entertainment. Free. YMCAs in Fullerton, Mission Viejo, Santa Ana, Laguna Niguel and Newport Beach are participating. Information: http://www.ymcaoc.org/hkd%20

Taste of Huntington Beach
April 28
Sample some of the local foods from local restaurants. Proceeds will benefit Huntington Beach Library. Noon to 4 pm. Sports Complex, 18100 Goldenwest St., Huntington Beach, Calif. Information: (714) 375-5023.

2013 Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival
May 2-12
The 29th edition of Southern California’s largest Asian Pacific Film Festival presents the best films from more than 20 countries featuring world premieres and sneak previews, as well as showcasing documentaries and narratives focusing on the voices of Asian Pacific Americans and Asians around the world. Tickets go on sale April 5. Information and schedule: www.vconline.org/festival or Visual Communications at (213) 680-4462, Ext. 59.

International Festival
May 4
More than 900 musicians and dancers will be at the festival on three stages, plus international foods and games, and a chance to win a trip to China. Free admission; $10 parking. 10:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Soka University, 1 University Drive, Aliso Viejo, Calif. Information: (949) 480-4081.

Swimming Lessons Registration
Through May 9
Registrations are based on first-come, first-served basis until full. Each session has eight, 40-minute lessons each Monday through Thursday for two weeks. $45. Register: www.ggparksandrec.com.

Family Fun Friday
May 10
Visitors will enjoy hands-on activities, live entertainment and interactive programs. The museum will have a carnival atmosphere with carnival games and acts. Free. 5:30 p.m. Balboa Fun Zone, 600 E. Bay Ave., Balboa Calif. Information: www.explorOcean.org or (949) 675-8915.

Anatolian Festival
May 16-19
The Anatolian Culture Festival will have food, art, exhibitions, performances, dance and live music. Orange County Fairgrounds, 88 Fair Drive, Costa Mesa, Calif. Information: (310) 208-7290.

Lobsterfest
May 17
All-you-can-eat lobster with live music and silent auction. Yorba Linda Community Center, 4501 Casa Loma Ave., Yorba Linda, Calif. Information: Tickets http://www.yllobsterfest.com/buy-tickets/

Greek Festival
May 17-19
Traditional Greek food and music and activities for children. St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church, 405 N. Dale St., Anaheim, Calif. Information: (714) 827-0182.

Strawberry Festival
May 24-27
Festival celebrating the city’s growing of strawberries. Free. Euclid and Main streets, Garden Grove, Calif. Information: (714) 638-0981.

Fish Fry and Carnival
May 31- June 2
Fry fish, raffle, and carnival games and rides. Fairview Park, Costa Mesa, Calif. Information: http://www.cmnhlions.com/

Grief Support Group
Thursdays
The Grief Share Support Group is for mothers who have lost children of any age. The group meets every Thursday evening. 12831 Olive St., Garden Grove, Calif. Information: (714) 892-1520 or (714) 343-7516.

Farmers Market
Sundays
Vendors sell fresh produce and other food items. 9 am.-2 pm. Free. Main Street between Garden Grove Boulevard and Acacia Parkway, Garden Grove, Calif. Information: Lee at (562) 498-6048 or (562) 499-9299.

By SANDIP ROY, New America Media

 Devesh Khatu ran the Boston Marathon twice – once in 2009 and again the following year.

Runner fail from one of the blasts at Boston Maration (AP Photo/MetroWest Daily News, Ken McGagh)

 This year, he didn’t run. But ever since the bombs went off at America’s oldest and most iconic marathon on Monday, his phone and Facebook wall have been flooded with anxious messages.

 Khatu once set a goal of 12 marathons in 12 months. His marathons have taken him all over the world: London, Berlin, New York, Mumbai. But Boston, he says, is special.

 “You have to qualify to be able to run in it,” says Khatu, who lives in San Francisco. “Running it is considered an accomplishment. It’s like, say, getting into Harvard Business School. Even non-runners know about it.”

 That’s what makes the attack on the marathon so heart-wrenching. That’s what Taslima Nasreen does not get when she sneers on Twitter, “Hey Americans! Don’t cry like 9/11, #BostonMarathon is not like 9/11. Come live in South Asia, bombs are like everyday fireworks.”

 There’s no point getting into a race-to-the-bottom competition of death tolls. The fact that many more were killed in Iraq on the same day as the bombs went off in Boston does not mitigate the tragedy of what happened in Boston any more than the daily gun violence in America’s inner cities diminishes the horror of the Newtown elementary school shooting. This is not the time to discuss blowback, what America deserves or does not deserve or speculate

 Leave aside the iconic nature of the Boston Marathon, that it happens on a state holiday known as Patriots Day marking the battles of Lexington and Concord and is thus imbued with a sense of Americana despite the runners who come from all over the world. There is just something “particularly devastating” about an attack on a marathon writes Nicholas Thompson in the New Yorker.

 “It’s an epic event in which men and women appear almost superhuman. The winning men run for hours at a pace even normal fit people can only hold in a sprint. But it’s also so ordinary. It’s not held in a stadium or on a track. It’s held in the same streets everyone drives on and walks down. An attack on a marathon is, in some ways, more devastating than an attack on a stadium; you’re hitting something special but also something very quotidian.

 That’s why the choice of a marathon as a bomber’s target is so baffling. It’s not a symbol of a country’s pomp, military might or financial wealth. It’s always been about the endurance of the human spirit. And it’s been open to all in a way few sports are.

 Khatu says he started running marathons in 2005 because he was very unathletic during school and college in India. His focus had always been on excelling in academia. But marathons seemed like a challenge he could take on. So many different kinds of people, many who had shown no aptitude for other sports, run the marathon.

 “Few things compare to the sense of accomplishment that you feel after running the 26.2 miles to finish a marathon,” he says.

 That’s pretty much what Kathrine Switzer, the first woman to run the Boston Marathon said about it as well.

 “If you are losing faith in human nature, go out and watch a marathon,” she said.

 Dave Zirin tells her story in a moving blog for The Nation about the Boston Marathon. He mourns that now “(l)ike a scar across someone’s face, the bombing will now be a part of the Boston Marathon.”

 But he writes that while you cannot ignore the scar, you have to remember it’s “only a part.” Kathrine Switzer is also a part of that same story, disfigured as it might be now. In 1967 she snuck into the marathon by registering under the gender-neutral name of KV Switzer. But five miles into the race, an irate marathon director jumped off a truck and tried to force her to “get the hell out of (his) race.” The men running with her fought him off.

 That story is moving because it shows that race does not belong to anyone. It was not the marathon director’s property and it’s not the bombers’ who tried to put their deadly stamp on it.

 Zirin writes the bombing now “marks us” like a scar. “But like a scar, we may need to wear it proudly.”

 Khatu has changed his profile picture on Facebook to his runner’s tag from the 2009 Boston marathon – runner number 8130. “I vow to requalify and run Boston again,” he says. Otherwise, as Switzer implies, you might as well lose faith in human nature.