Penn Cove Mussel Festival — Yummmmmm!
If you’re a seafood lover, mark the weekend of March 3rd-4th on your calendar, and plan to attend the Penn Cove Mussel Festival in Coupeville.
These deliciously sweet, black-shelled morsels are native to the waters of Washington. Prepared simply (steamed with white wine and herbs) or tossed with a hearty pasta sauce, it makes my mouth water just thinking about them!
The festival takes place in Coupeville, in the heart of Whidbey Island. You can reach Coupeville from Seattle by driving north on I-5 to the Clinton-Mukilteo ferry exit. There are two exits that will take you to the ferry, and both provide excellent signage to follow. Take the ferry across to Clinton (on the tip of Whidbey Island), and then drive about 30 miles north on Highway 520 to Coupeville. You can find a ferry schedule at Washington State Ferries.
Lots of activities are planned for festival weekend, and, as you might expect, a lot of them involve tastings. Mmmmmmm!
Oh yeah, other festival activities include a boat tour of the mussel flats, a mussel-eating contest, a mussel chowder-off, mussel-themed games for the kids, beer and wine (21 and over only), and music. Did I mention that you get to eat mussels?
Location: On Cove Street, between Grace & Alexander Streets in Coupeville (Whidbey Island)
Dates & Times: March 3rd-4th. 10:30 am – 8:30 pm on Saturday, 11 am – 5 pm on Sunday.
Admission: Free. Some events have individual fees, and there is a charge for food and beverages.
Other activities going on that weekend include the Arts and Antiques Walk and the Open Studio Tour, so there will be lots to do and see, not just to eat. — although you can’t go wrong eating Penn Cove Mussels.
NOTE: Although the festival has a website, it does not seem to be live.
You can find some great mussel recipes here:
Photo credit: flickr
_____________________________________________________
Tags: b5media, seattle, seattle-traveler, the-seattle-traveler, travel, vacation, Washington
Related Stories
POSTED IN: Events, Family Fun, Food & Beverage, People - Interesting Local People, Scenic & Short Trips, Uncategorized
SeattleFLOOD WARNING FOR KING COUNTY, SNOHOMISH COUNTY, WA UNTIL THU JAN 08 2009 07:45 AM PST°
4 opinions for Penn Cove Mussel Festival — Yummmmmm!
Get Crabby in Port Angeles
Oct 12, 2007 at 3:54 am
[...] community festivals are NOT created equal, but the Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival joins the Penn Cove Mussel Festival at the very top of my [...]
Pat Hamilton
Nov 6, 2007 at 11:42 am
What are the dates for the 2008 Coupeville Mussel Festival??
PRH
Ron Hill
Feb 23, 2008 at 11:31 am
The dates for the muscle fest are wrong. The 3rd and 4th of march are last years dates.
Mary Jo
Feb 23, 2008 at 5:47 pm
Ron, this is from last year’s (2007) festival.
I’ll get a new post up for this year’s event soon.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment: