It’s time to fire up the barbecue grill and put your secret recipes to the test at the annual Brentwood PAL Barbecue King Cook-off. Keeping with tradition, the cook-off will take place at Harvest Park Bowling Center on Super Bowl Sunday, Feb. 7. Grill masters from around the Bay Area will battle to see who fires up the best ribs, tri-tip and chicken. This year’s event also features a Chili Cook-off competition. The winners take home $100 for first prize. The Barbecue Cook-off entrance fee is $100 (meat will be provided by Brentwood Fine Meats); the Chili Cook-off fee is $30.

A Dessert Competition will be held for those who prefer to work with sugar instead of smoke. There’s no entrance fee, and the winner takes home $50. For more information about entering the competition, call Greg Robinson at 925-487-6383 or Jeff Schults at 925-890-8296. Brentwood’s own Gorilla Rilla, a recent inductee into the Pro Football’s Ultimate Fan Association Hall of Fame, will also be making the rounds during the contests, so make sure to stop by and say hi.

While a panel of judges will determine the winners, everyone is welcome to sample the lip-smacking barbecue goodies from 1 to 3 p.m. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 the day of the event for adults, and $15 for kids under the age of 12. Family passes (two adult meals and up to three kid meals) are also available for $60. All proceeds benefit the Brentwood Police Activities League and the East Contra Costa Historical Society. Last year’s event raised $3,500. When the barbecue is over, stick around for the big game and enjoy the Super Bowl Sunday Bowling Special. Games cost only $2 each and shoe rentals are free.

Barbecue King Cook-off tickets are available at Harvest Park Bowling Center, 5000 Balfour Road; Brentwood Fine Meats, 3877 Walnut Blvd; and the Brentwood Press office, 248 Oak. St. For more information, call Harvest Park at 925-516-1221.

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When Mike Temby stepped up to the podium at Discovery Bay’s State of the Town gala, the longtime resident – and barefoot waterskiing world champion – was surprised by a special award for his ongoing commitment to the community. But the even bigger surprise was the gift that accompanied the accolades: a one-of-a-kind Tommy Bahama (think waterskiing-themed) shirt right off the back – or rather out of the closet – of good friend Marston Meyers. It’s a regular joke between the two that Meyers’ closet is lined with an array of dry-cleaned Tommy Bahama shirts that evokes envy in Temby each time he visits the Meyers’ home. So this year, instead of lugging home a trophy he’d need to find a place for on a shelf, Temby got himself a freshly cleaned, newly wrapped Bahama original instead. Congratulations, Mike!

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Oakley resident Billy Fee, a 2009 graduate of Freedom High School, was honored at a recent City Council meeting for attaining the rank of Eagle Scout by successfully orchestrating a community service project in which he collected and retired more than 300 American flags at an official retirement ceremony at Laurel Ball Fields last August. Fee, who has been involved with Boy Scout Troup 152 since he was in the first grade, received the proclamation from Mayor Pat Anderson, one of his former teachers. Fee is currently a student at Los Medanos College, studying fire technology in pursuit of a career in firefighting.

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The City of Oakley Recreation Division received two Awards of Achievement from the California Parks and Recreation Society in 2009. The city’s Passport to Science series and Youth CORE summer program were honored as superior education and community-service programs.