Lana Del Rey clearly hadn’t been to Madison when she crooned her seasonal blues in “Summertime Sadness.” The sense of restless loneliness many may experience when their school schedule dissolves and the days drift by in a warm haze is repelled by the isthmus’ many events during the short window of time when citizens can put away the parka.

I had heard the folklore surrounding summertime in Madison, but only recently began to understand it for myself. In honor of urban exploration and anyone else considering the isthmus as home, here is a chronicle of three events — back-to-back and free — that all symbolize local culture in their own wonderful ways: Concerts on the Square, La Fête de Marquette and Shrekfest.

Concerts on the Square: Classy with a Chance of Cheese

Concerts on the Square, a live-music series organized by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, is the perfect example of Madison’s cultural appreciation without taking itself too seriously. A summer staple every Wednesday, hundreds upon thousands gather on the Capitol lawn — with blankets and wine bottles in hand — to hear masters at a classic craft.

In my ignorance, I underestimated the preparation many took in making their experience the classiest it could be. As I tip-toed around the many blankets claiming prime seating, I witnessed many pop-up restaurants; groups of friends and family sitting in lawn chairs around a table cluttered with gourmet cheeses, crackers and of course, a few red wines and New Glarus brews. People from all walks of life hunched over intense Monopoly games, chatted about their week, all the while enjoying Mozart, Tchaikovsky and Beethoven in the night’s “Top 40 Classical” program featuring violinist Andrew Sords.

As I clutched my single beverage and already-open bag of popcorn, I felt ashamed at ever thinking Madisonians wouldn’t regard Concerts on the Square as anything less than a glorious privilege — something so uniquely local that it had to be cherished. When the music began to fade with the sunlight, I was already debating blue cheese or gruyere for the next week.

La Fête de Marquette: Midwestern hospitality

I headed to the East Side for the next summer adventure: La Fete de Marquette, a French-inspired jazz festival in Madison’s Central Park just off Williamson Street.Wil-Mar Neighborhood Center, a community non-profit, runs the four-day event that was proudly celebrating its 10th anniversary.

With free admission and the lure of live music, I ambled in for Thursday’s Le Soiree du Co-op, the “co-op” day honoring Willy Street’s own. With local food vendors and beers — including varietals from Capital Brewery and Wisconsin Brewing Company — the event lived up to its community-enhancing hype. A magician mesmerized kiddos, a ferris wheel lifted patrons to the distant Capitol’s level and headliners Lost Bayou Ramblers and The Revivalists both brought deep-south soul to the small park. It is rare that a busy festival makes you feel at home, but La Fete de Marquette did just that.

Shrekfest: Welcome to the Swamp

Madison is not without its eccentricities — the plastic pink flamingo is the official “city bird” and a mustard museum sits within its jurisdiction — so any summer wouldn’t be complete without the weird.

Cue Shrekfest, the second-annual festival dedicated to the 2001 (we’re that old?!) animated film and its arguably superior sequels. 3GI Industries — which can only be described as an entrepreneurial collective soaked in irony and topical references — coordinated the ogre’s brief monument on the West Side’s Rennebohm Park.

Walking up to Shrekfest on a sunny Friday afternoon was a little lackluster — the fest was contained in a nondescript pavilion Lord Farquaad would scoff at — but the closer one got, the more glorious it became. Standing guard was the man of the hour, Shrek himself, blown up to life-size and photo-ready for swarms of local fans. Not only that, but it was signed by none other than Smash Mouth.

Passing underneath a hand-painted banner and through white and green streamers and I arrived. Concessions to the left, and face-painting and ogre ears to the right, it was all Shrek-lovers could have asked for. The movies’ impeccable soundtrack , and its many remixes, blasted over speakers. A video-game station entertained guests as festivalgoers awaited an “interactive” screening of the first film, complete with enthusiastic chants of “Shrekfest, Shrekfest, Shrekfest!”

As if it couldn’t get any better, several patrons brought some of the experience home in pre-purchased “packages.” The “All Star Package” included a t-shirt, Shrek ears, movie props, VIP seating, and an ambiguous (but enticing) “Tales from the Shrek” tape made by organizers.

It was a perfect conclusion to a busy three days on the Isthmus. In a limited span I experienced a full-chamber orchestra with the appropriate fixings, a lively ode to Frenchmen and Willie Street community-living and last but certainly not least, Shrekfest. “Bored” effectively left my vocabulary.