Next year has plenty of good times in store. Not just the excitement of movies filming in your neighborhood or even a rumored Dreamworks studio in Harrison, but things to do in Hudson to suit everyone’s taste. Though Orlando Cuevas just left the Jersey City Cultural Affairs department to concentrate full-time on his sculpting, he leaves behind a vibrant art scene that he helped create. Cultural Affairs and Recreation Director Jesse Correa says that her department will continue to support the arts, and hopes to publish a guide to the city’s art galleries with information about local artists and art history. “The mayor is always saying that we’re a little SoHo, and we love that,” said Correa. “We want to do what we can to promote that.” Toward the promotion end, Correa said that she’d like to breath new life into the city’s tourism board and cultural arts commission to attract both out-of-towners and more locals to the cities galleries, festivals and waterfront events. There are even plans to commission a post card series celebrating Jersey City architecture and sculpture through the years. Big festivals include Op-Sail in July, when the city will also kick off Summerfest, and the Multi Arts Festival, which may include a venue change because of planned construction at Newport Center Mall. Speaking of the mall, that construction will likely include adding a Macy’s department store to the shops, since their option to build at the mall expires next year. Festivals, like Hoboken’s renowned Art and Music Festival on Washington Street and North Bergen’s winter festival in North Hudson Park, will, as usual, pop up all over Hudson County. Jersey City and Hoboken will once again host the popular Artists’ Studio Tours. Stage and screen Thanks to the efforts of Friends of Loew’s, a grass-roots, non profit-organization, the old Loew’s Jersey on Kennedy Boulevard will once again become the centerpiece of Journal Square. While the Friends of Loew’s is still in the process of renovating the theater, they will begin showing classic and independent films, along with limited stage productions, in approximately six to nine months, said Loew’s Director Colin Egan . When it’s finally up and running, The Loew’s theater will be more than just a movie house. It will also host live musical events and stage productions. “I like to call [the Loew’s] a cross between [New York’s] Carnegie Hall, The Beacon Theater and Film Forum,” said Egan. “It’s going to remake the landscape of Journal Square and bring the square back to what it once was, not only a transportation access [point], but an entertainment destination.” And then there’s the multiplex theater under construction at the Columbia Shopping Center (Kennedy Blvd, downtown) in North Bergen, where a veritable plethora of screens will bring us all the latest movies. In Hoboken, Debaun Auditorium at Steven’s Institute of Technology was recently renovated and has already hosted performances of Hoboken playwright Louis LaRusso’s future off-Broadway play, “December.” The Hoboken Historical Museum will be opening this year. As for music, an unofficial tourist draw has always been Maxwell’s, the Hoboken club that brings the best bands to Hudson and fans from all over the tri-state area. The new year will bring many of the great acts that sold out their shows last year: The Donnas, NRBQ and Rocket from the Crypt to name a few. Booker and co-owner Todd Abramson said he’s going to continue the commitment to entertainment, keeping the place hopping six nights a week. “If anything, I would say the entertainment is more the key than ever,” said Abramson, reflecting on the past year and a half since the back room reopened when Abramson, Dave Post and Steve Shelley bought the place. “I’ve been very pleased in general with the turnout.” One new feature at Maxwell’s will be a DJ night in the back room on Tuesdays. Abramson said he’ll likely have a mixture of DJs from local radio stations WFMU and WFDU and maybe mix in some celebrity DJs, or musicians from local bands who want to branch out with the turntable. Geri Fallo, Hoboken’s Cultural Affairs director, is enthusiastic about the year 2000. “There will be more support financially for the arts, and a lot more performances will take place all around the county,” said Fallo. “Hudson County will be a thriving cultural metropolis.”