Today, Ballet West launches 10 days of events leading up to the opening of its season premiere production of Dracula. ---

Ballet West's "Dracula Fest" begins today at Sandy Library (10100 S. Petunia Way), where a full day of children's crafts and contests will culminate in a live appearance by Ballet West dancers at 7 p.m. to sign autographs and discuss the production. But that's just the start, as a series of lectures, film screenings and other events continue right up to the Oct. 21 opening of Dracula. Also on the schedule:

* University of Utah faculty member and silent-film expert Sam Dunn discusses the Dracula myth at the City Library auditorium (210 E. 400 South) on Oct. 13, 6:30 p.m., followed by a screening of the 1922 classic Nosferatu (free to the public).

* American Red Cross blood drive in the Capitol Theatre (50 W. 200 South) lobby, Oct. 17, 2 - 7 p.m.

* Wasatch Paranormal Investigators talk about Utah's haunted places in the Capitol Theatre lobby, Oct. 18, 7 p.m.

* Double feature at the Broadway Centre Cinemas (111 E. 300 South) of 1979's Werner Herzog version of Nosferatu, followed by Francis Ford Coppola's 1992 film Bram Stoker's Dracula, Oct. 19, 7 p.m., $5 at the door for both films.