IT'S THE BOMB >>>

I love bacon - so much so that I've been looking at recipes for bacon chocolate-chip cookies.

And while I didn't get to Big Tom's last month for the maple-bacon shake of the month, I hear it's not too late to throw caution to the wind and indulge. (And, by the way, it's not bacon but a milkshake that's a rare indulgence for me.)

And yet there is such a thing, even for me, as too much bacon. Which brings me to the bacon bomb - a bacon-wrapped sausage or meatloaf mixture, sometimes studded or stuffed with more bacon and then slathered with barbecue sauce. Find out how to make one at home (if you dare) in this video by International BBQ Competition organizer Matt Grate.

Teams competing in the second annual BBQ by the Lake Championship BBQ Days this weekend will be cooking up the aforementioned bacon bombs in addition to the usual ribs, chicken and such. Most of the competitive teams will also be selling their wares as part of the competition and associated Spring Garden Fair. Also on the menu: live music, a beer garden, face painting and much more.

The fair ignites Friday, May 20, at 5 p.m. with a dinner and auction at Black Lake Grange, 6011 Black Lake Blvd. S.W., Olympia. Admission is free, and the donation of two cans of food for the Thurston County Food Bank gets you a raffle ticket. Dinner can be purchased for under $10, and there'll be live music and a dessert contest ($5 to sample everything and vote for your favorite).

Saturday and Sunday, festivities will be cooking from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at Columbus Park, 5700 Black Lake Blvd, Olympia, on the shores of Black Lake. The price of admission is the donation of a nonperishable food item for the food bank. (For two donations, you also get a raffle ticket.)

[Black Lake Grange, Dinner and Auction, Friday, May 20, $5 p.m., donations for Thurston County Food Bank gladly accepted, 6011 Black Lake Blvd. S.W., Olympia]

[Columbus Park, BBQ By The Lake Championship, May 21-22, 11 a.m. - 7 p.m., admission with donation of nonperishable food item, 5700 Black Lake Blvd., Olympia, 360.754.2868, www.afabworld.com]