Tip for anyone wanting to offer the ultimate hostess a gift — bring mussels.

Cindy Olson should know, she’s about to help host the biggest mussel party out there — the 20th annual Penn Cove MusselFest, March 3 and 4, in Coupeville.

The MusselFest is Whidbey’s own premier food festival that tends to muscle people ashore from other parts of the state and even country.

“We hope to draw people here to learn about and enjoy mussels,” Olson said.

The MusselFest in its present incarnation originated almost a decade ago. For the first dozen years, it was held at the Captain Whidbey Inn’s historic lodge.

Until this year it was organized by a group of volunteers headed by Rita Kuller. Now, the Coupeville Historic Waterfront Association has taken over and this year Olson’s Aqua Events was hired to get the festival underway.

This weekend, Coupeville will be brimming with everything and anything mussel.

Twelve restaurants, including perennial MusselFest entrants Christopher’s, Toby’s Tavern, Anna’s Tea Room, Tyee Restaurant and Lounge, and Knead & Feed, will be in the running for the mussel chowder cook-off’s People’s Choice award. They’ll stir things up against the likes of Coupeville Coffee House, Harbor Store Cafe, The Blue Goose Inn, Miriam’s, The Oystercatcher, Mad Crab Restaurant and Lounge, and The Pizza Factory. Yes, only during festival weekend will some of Coupeville’s eateries offer mussel chowder.

“Each restaurant goes through hundreds of pounds of mussels to make their chowder,” Olson said.

Last year there were 400 tastes sold each day. This weekend organizers hope to sell 1,000.

Penn Cove Shellfish Co. farm manager Tim Jones estimates the shellfish company will supply more than 3,000 pounds of mussels to the festival for the chowder contest, eating contests, cooking demonstrations and also for people to take home fresh from Penn Cove.

New this year is the fact the 12 chowder making restaurants will be broken into two groups. People can choose to buy tickets for only one group or both.

“We hope this alleviates some of the congestion,” Olson said.

Expect the festival to have a new feel with even more changes on the horizon. Olson said organizers hope to gear the fest toward “foodies” and culinary junkies.

This year’s festival will step toward its new, bright, blue direction.

All weekend long there will be cooking demonstrations and art on display in the Coupeville Recreation Hall. WSU Beach Watchers will be down at the wharf to help answer questions about Penn Cove shorelife.

Whidbey Sea-Tac Shuttle will operate the free Mussel Shuttle from 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day.

The Mystic Sea will allow more people to take the always sold-out boat tours of the Penn Cove Shellfish Co. farm. Jones will lead tours aboard the boat equipped with an underwater camera and televisions for viewing.

“It’s a unique thing. Our mussels are world-renowned,” Olson said. “Everyone wants to know how to grow them.”

Penn Cove Shellfish Co., founded in 1975 by Peter Jefferds, is America’s oldest and largest commercial mussel farm. The shellfish farm is now operated by Jefferds’ sons, Ian and Rawle, who continue to be driving forces for the festival.

Penn Cove Shellfish Co. continues to sponsor the festival and organize the mussel, beer and wine garden and give proceeds to youth organizations.

The beneficiary of last year’s mussel, beer and wine garden proceeds, and for this year as well, is the Boys and Girls Club of Coupeville.

The garden will be the place to enjoy music on Saturday. Marcus Whiting will perform jazz piano and vocals noon to 2:30 p.m. He will be followed by American bluegrass favorites Feed ‘N Seed from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m. Closing the music lineup will be western rock band The High Plains Drifters who will play from 5:30 to 9 p.m. Saturday.

Musical notes will also float about town when the Shifty Sailors perform their strolling salty tunes from 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday.

Don’t forget to get your fill —everyone’s invited here — at the mussel eating contest at 3:30 p.m., both Saturday and Sunday.

The adults aren’t the only ones who will have fun at MusselFest. The kids are invited to enjoy “Stories from the Sea,” 10:45 to 11:15 a.m., Saturday at the Island County Historical Society Museum in Coupeville. The Central Whidbey Co-Op Preschool will sponsor an event from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday that kids can really get their hands on — mussel fossil making.

To help wind down your MusselFest days, enjoy the late night shopping and art stroll Saturday until 8 p.m. and Sunday until 5 p.m.