Barnesville hosts its 46th annual Pumpkin Festival this week, beginning with the selection of the King Pumpkin today.

But some local girls were crowned as festival royalty Sunday. They include Queen Kylee McConnell, daughter of Penny and Dan Gabel and Scott McConnell, who is a junior at Barnesville High School; Princess Miranda Jo Plumly, daughter of Joe and Julie Plumly and a seventh-grader at Barnesville Middle School; and Mini Miss Victoria Saseen, daughter of Chris and Maggie Saseen of Valley Grove, who is a fourth-grader at Middle Creek Elementary in Ohio County.

The Pumpkin Festival officially gets under way at 5 p.m. Thursday and runs through 6 p.m. Sunday. The King Pumpkin weigh-in begins at 6 p.m. today at the intersection of Main and Chestmut streets.

Although no one yet knows how large the royal pumpkin will be, the largest King Pumpkin to date weighed 1,289.5 pounds and was grown by St. Clairsville-area resident Brooks Bosworth in 2007. Todd Skinner of Barnesville entered the winning pumpkin last year, and it weighed 1,175 pounds. Skinner and his wife, Donna, also had a 1,109-pound pumpkin that earned the crown in 2000.

Meanwhile, the Smithfield Apple Festival opens Friday and continues through Sunday.

The theme for the annual Smithfield event will be ''My Favorite Disney Character.''

A variety of foods will be available at both festivals with some, of course, made from pumpkins and apples. There also will be music, displays and competitions of various kinds at both locations.

The Giant Pumpkin Parade in Barnesville will be at 2 p.m. Saturday, while the Apple Festival's Grand Parade is set for 5 p.m. Saturday. The Smithfield festival also will have a pet parade Friday at 10 a.m.

A car show is planned for Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Apple Festival, while the antique and classic car show at the Pumpkin Festival will be Sunday from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Both festivals will have 5K races Saturday. In Smithfield, the race will begin at 9 a.m. Registration for the 5K Pumpkin Run and Fitness Walk in Barnesville will be Saturday from 6:30-7:45 a.m. with the event to begin at 8 a.m.

The Great American Bed Race, a unique feature of the Smithfield festival, will be Sunday at 5 p.m.

A community church service at the stage will be held Sunday from noon to 1 p.m. in Smithfield, and the First Presbyterian Church in Barnesville will have open house that day from noon to 3 p.m.

Those are only a few activities planned as pumpkins and apples take center stage in the two area communities.