Beloved fests make this a classical summer ...

Tolstoy once wrote that all happy families are alike.

Classical music lovers know that all happy music festivals are different.

Certainly in the Northwest, each successful summer festival has its own distinct personality, defined by the artist roster, geography, venue, programming and all sorts of extras. Over the years, the few festivals that haven't succeeded are usually the ones that have not been able to create that crucial niche that attracts eager audiences.

Those festival experiences — not all of them strictly musical — define summer for many music fans, whether it means perching on hay bales in an 1890s dairy farm, tootling up to the San Juans on a ferry toward a world premiere, sitting among the Cascade foothills surrounded by towering peaks or spreading out preconcert champagne glasses on a blanket on the wide green lawns at the Lakeside School.

Here's a guide to enjoying the fun, in festivals that surround Seattle at nearly every point of the compass. All of them have Web sites, too, so let your fingers do the walking through that computer keyboard.

Olympic Music Festival: This is the second weekend for the Northwest's longest (three-month) classical festival, whose 23rd season continues at 2 p.m. every Saturday and Sunday, through Sept. 10. The location is a glorious 55-acre site just west of the Hood Canal Bridge on the Olympic Peninsula near Quilcene, Jefferson County. The atmosphere, with the musicians wearing blue jeans and the listeners gathering in the old dairy barn for chamber-music concerts, is informal and friendly. Philadelphia Quartet violist Alan Iglitzin, festival director, is heard in many of the concerts, alongside a roster of artists from several states (www.olympicmusicfestival.org, 206-527-8839).

Seattle Chamber Music Society Summer Festival at Lakeside School: It's a mouthful, but the Society's annual summer festival is the longest-established one in the Northwest (this is its 25th season). Founded by cellist and UW prof Toby Saks, the festival, with its important artist roster (e.g. Jon Kimura Parker, James Ehnes, Ani Kavafian), is held at the Lakeside School, where preconcert recitals tempt listeners in from their preconcert picnics on the verdant lawns (catered dining also available).

The small St. Nicholas Hall ensures intimacy, and audience response tends to be electric. Best value: You can sit outdoors on the lawn and hear the broadcast of the concert inside for free. Concerts are Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays throughout July, starting Monday (www.seattlechambermusic.org, 206-283-8808). There's also a Summer Festival at the Overlake School on the Eastside, Aug. 2-11, with a very similar format; the Society's Web site has details.

Icicle Creek Music Festival: Up in the Cascade foothills near Leavenworth, Chelan County, you'll find everything from bluegrass to student concerts; the classical events start July 14, with Mozart's "Kegelstatt" Trio alongside new music, all programmed for mostly Northwest artists (including clarinetist Laura DeLuca) by director/pianist Lisa Bergman (www.icicle.org, 877-265-6026).

Methow Valley Chamber Music Festival: The busy Lisa Bergman has programmed inventive chamber concerts of wide-ranging repertoire, and mostly Washington state artists, in barns, meadows and other sites around Winthrop, Okanogan County, in Eastern Washington, with the fun starting July 28 (www.methowmusicfestival.org, 509-996-6000).

Bellingham Festival of Music: The 14th annual festival salutes Mozart on his 250th birthday, with Festival Orchestra concerts starting Aug. 4 in several Bellingham venues (including the Mount Baker Theatre). Pianist Horacio Gutiérrez is among the stars of the orchestral/chamber/opera programming (www.bellinghamfestival.org, 360-734-6080).

Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival: Founder/violist Aloysia Friedmann has created a little gem in this tiny but consistently imaginative festival, held in the Orcas Center in the island's hub, Eastsound, San Juan County. Repertoire reaches from Schubert's "Arpeggione" Sonata to Michael Daugherty's "Dead Elvis," with cellist Lynn Harrell among the performers. Starts Aug. 21 (tickets, www.orcascenter.org, 360-376-2281; info, www.oicmf.org).

Annas Bay Music Festival: It's the first year for this brand-new festival, which starts Aug. 31 on the south shore of Hood Canal in the Harmony Hill Retreat Center in Union, Mason County. First up: a two-week celebration of American music, with famed tenor Vinson Cole, baritone Robert Orth and Seattle's Tudor Choir among the performers (www.annasbay.org, 360-898-5000).

Melinda Bargreen:

mbargreen@seattletimes.com