The picturesque lakeside town of Grand Haven doesn't have an official art museum, but that may be what adds to the unique mix as an emerging area for fine art appreciation.

Before glittering diamond skin, vegetarianism and werewolf hatred came around to screw up classic lore, vampires owned the night, seducing countless victims. In 1897, Bram Stoker sculpted the first iconic vampire: Dracula.

In Stoker's novel, Dracula possessed all the legend qualities – lust for human blood, the ability to fly as a bat, repelled by garlic, allergic to the sun – to display this horror character.

• Bram Stoker
• Dracula
• Patricia Baker
• Grand Rapids Ballet Company
• Roger Van Fleteren
• Wes Chapman
• Stephen Sanford
• Laura McQueen Schultz

During the first week of October, art transforms downtown Grand Rapids into a pretty frickin' crazy place. There's stuff everywhere, and the cause [ArtPrize] pretty much provides the context for talk about art for the three weeks it takes over town. So, in the spirit of art's magnificent role in civic life, this month's featured event is something happening in the one place in town that has made art its mission.

• artprize
• Grand Rapids
• Avenue for the Art
• Crafthouse
• Gaspard Gallery
• Mexicains Sans Frontieres
• Calvin's Gallery
• Amanda Carmer
• The DAAC

If we're talking video game heroes, few have stood the test of time quite like The Legend of Zelda's Link. Whether radiating pudgy, pixilated charm, or vanquishing foes in his new sleeker form, the pointy-eared warrior has left an indelible mark in gamers' hearts. Grand Rapids Symphony allows fans to relive the excitement of Link's oldest and newest adventures in the touring symphony concert, The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses.

• Grand Rapids Symphony
• The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses
• Roger D Nelson