WASHINGTON -- For Pennsylvanians joining in the big-ticket inaugural festivities this week, deciding whether to attend the official or unofficial Pennsylvania ball tomorrow night could have been a real dilemma.

		Funding Pa.'s party Twenty-two companies are underwriting the unofficial inaugural Pennsylvania Gala at the National Museum of Natural History. Gala organizers declined to reveal the contribution amounts reflected by the sponsorship categories: PLATINUM SPONSORS Sunoco Inc. Exelon Corp. GOLD SPONSORS Comcast Greenlee Partners LLC Hershey Foods Corp. Lockheed Martin Corp. Merck & Co. Inc. National Association of Broadcasters PPL Corp. Washington Strategies LLC Wyeth SILVER SPONSORS Air Products The Bond Market Association Brabender Cox Cigna General Motors Corp. GlaxoSmithKline Hospital & Health Systems Association of Pennsylvania Public Affairs Management Rohm and Haas Co. U.S. Steel Corp. Verizon

Would it be more fun to attend Pennsylvania's official Stars and Stripes Ball at the Convention Center, with the chance for a glimpse of the president's moves as he whirls first lady Laura Bush around the dance floor in her ice blue-and-silver couture? Or, at the equivalent price of $150, was it a better deal to go to the "unofficial" Pennsylvania gala at the National Museum of Natural History -- underwritten by 22 big-name companies -- to try to catch the ear of Pennsylvania's two powerhouse senators, Republicans Rick Santorum and Arlen Specter, as well as others of the state's congressional delegation -- all of whom are being honored at the event?

Though the tickets for the Stars and Stripes event are already sold out and were hard to come by, the official balls have long been known for mind-numbing bar lines and mediocre food. And Pennsylvania Republicans at the Washington Convention Center, where the official ball is being held, will have to rub shoulders with guests from the bluest of blue (Democrat-dominated) states, New York, and the briefly purplish New Jersey.

The rumor on Capitol Hill is that, with underwriting by such blue-chip companies as Merck & Co., Lockheed Martin and General Motors -- not to mention Pennsylvania-based giants like Hershey Foods, Comcast and Sunoco -- the food is sure to be better at the state's museum gala.

Some 1,200 guests will sample a Keystone buffet including "second-Christmas" lamb ragout with artichokes and lemon, potato pierogies, sptzle with nutmeg and filet of beef Zenzendorf. Also on the menu is Lancaster County corn pudding and Lehigh Valley mixed greens with goat cheese and candied almonds. The guests will be able to choose from nine desserts, including a warm apple pandowdy and shoofly pie -- described as a Mennonite recipe of molasses custard with brown-sugar crumbs.

In the museum after dark, guests can wander from the mammal hall to the dinosaur exhibit and gawk at the 45.42-carat Hope Diamond. And from seven until midnight, they'll dance on the museum's main rotunda marble floor to tunes by a band known as The Wright Touch, which touts its ability to swing from Frank Sinatra lounge to Motown soul to Latin beats. In another part of the museum, a brass quintet and a jazz quartet will be serenading. And, of course, there will be the opportunity to have one's picture snapped at the inaugural photo booth.

The galas tomorrow night will mark the end of a week of partying and the real start of the period when the 109th session of Congress gets to work. So, amid the pleasantries of the night's events, Sunoco and Exelon officials may be awfully interested in what lawmakers have to say about upcoming environmental legislation and the stalled energy bill in Congress. And Comcast and Verizon officials will certainly be paying attention to any news about the chances of revisiting the 1996 Telecom Act this session.

	Pa. delegation committee assignments Local members of the Pennsylvania delegation have drawn these committee assignments related to business in the new Congress: Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa.: newly assigned to Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; chairman of the Republican Conference; Finance; Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs; Rules and Administration; Special Committee on Aging. Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa.: chairman of Judiciary; Appropriations; Veteran's Affairs. Rep. Mike Doyle, D-Swissvale: Energy and Commerce; Standards on Official Conduct. Rep. Phil English, R-Erie: Ways and Means; Joint Economic Committee. Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Bradford Woods: newly Assigned to Ways and Means Committee. Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Upper St. Clair: newly assigned to the Energy and Commerce Committee. Rep. John P. Murtha, D-Johnstown: Appropriations.

Staff members in the offices of local delegations declined to release names of any special guests for the gala. But one of the event's organizers, Mike Hershey of the National Association of Broadcasters, said congressional delegation members were permitted to supply names of friends, contributors and constituents whom they wished to attend. Other groups, such as the Pennsylvania Republican Party and the Pennsylvania State Society, helped to publicize the gala.

The NAB's Hershey said Santorum, who organized the first Pennsylvania Gala for President Bush's initial inaugural in 2001, believes that the unofficial ball is a way to open inaugural festivities to Pennsylvanians unable to get a ticket into the official balls. "Interest in attending the official ball and events outweighed ticket availability," Hershey said. The gala "is really Senator Santorum's desire to create another venue where constituents would have access to go to, so that's how it got started.

"What we're hoping happens," Hershey said, "is this continues as the PA ball, regardless of who is [being inaugurated as] president -- Republican or Democrat."

Pennsylvania Rep. Melissa Hart, R-Bradford Woods, who intends to try to show up at both balls, said she wasn't looking forward to the difficulty she'll likely encounter in trying to get around Washington on the inaugural evening. "Traveling from one event to another was practically impossible [in 2001]," she said, but she wouldn't reveal her opinion of which event was the more fun -- the official or unofficial one. "I'm hoping to get to both," she said.

Museum of Natural History gala tickets are still available, and the event is open to anyone who pays the price. Information about the Pennsylvania Gala is available by calling 703-556-4221. Ticket costs and corporate sponsorship will cover the expense of the event, which is not a fund raiser.

On the Internet auction site eBay yesterday afternoon, a package of two tickets for the official Stars and Stripes Ball was going for $355.