Holidays on St. John. Never more priceless.

Linda Dickson, who, along with her husband John, runs one of Cruz Bay’s most successful retail stores…Pink Papaya, which they bought from its original owner about five years ago.

The sign out front says “Art and ‘Ting with a Tropical Zing,” and that pretty much sums up this store, that’s chock full of jewelry, local art, colorful house wares and a lot of other stuff. The one thing the inventory has in common? Color. Lots of it.

Meet Linda, get a tour of Pink Papaya and see some of its unique treasures, below!

Somebody’s being very generous this holiday season.

An unnamed benefactor is matching donations to the Gifft Hill School anywhere from two-to-one to a whopping nine-to-one.

The fundraiser’s capped at $1 million, which would go a long way to subsidizing tuition for a large percentage of the students that attend the private school.

Your good donation will be matched two-to-one. Grandparents of students, five-to-one. Students, teachers, alumni and current parents, nine-to-one.

So who is this mystery donor?  We asked a source close to the effort, who declined to be identified.

OSJ: Does he own an old blue chair?

SOURCE: No.

OSJ: Did he build a gigantic Peter Bay villa for Oprah Winfrey?

SOURCE: No.

OSJ: Is he bigger than a breadbox?

SOURCE: I can’t comment.

The anonymous donor’s offer is good only for donations through December 31, so go here and click on “Seeds for Success.”

Grande Bay’s curb appeal takes a new twist, with a waterfall that cascades down to street level.

The whole thing isn’t quite ready for prime time. We’ll show you the Full Monty in a few days, but here’s a Ruth Cam peek.

(If you’re ready to fire off a nasty comment about Grande Bay, use all that energy to do something about a development that’s not already here.)

Steve Simon welcomed kids from the Big Island to St. John Sunday morning, The St. Croix Central High School Jazz Ensemble, which headlined last night’s big Christmas Music Festival. They joined high school Jazz musicians from St. John, and from St. Thomas as well.

If you’re looking for budget accommodations in a great location, check out Hummingbird Villas.

This little compound on Frank Bay is an easy walk from Cruz Bay and is meticulously maintained by the owner, longtime St. John resident Mary Ellis.

There’s a two bedroom villa, a one bedroom apartment and a great little efficiency that is right on Frank Bay, a GREAT sunset watching spot.

Mary is on-site, and available to help you get settled. She even makes sure you’re picked up, given a quick tour of Cruz Bay and taken to the grocery store before settling in.

Check it out here!

New signs are going up at the Coral Bay Triangle, and it sounds like a team effort.

The eclectic patchwork of signs that welcomed you to Coral Bay for years was taken down this summer by the Marovian Church, which owns the land, but a group of Coral Bay business owners, designers and artists are starting to put up a replacement, with the church’s blessing.

Right now, it’s just a few poles with some chain link fence and a couple of signs…It’s a work in progress.

The $1,200 project “will reflect the unique, artistic and nautical ambience of Coral Bay” said a letter to Coral Bay residents earlier this year.

It will include arrows pointing left to the East End and to the fire department and dinghy dock, and arrows pointing right to Salt Pond and “gas and groceries.”

The old collection of signs totaled 16. This new sign board has room for twice that many, with businesses that had staked out a claim in the old mix given first dibs. Businesses will have to pay the church for the space.

It’ll also include a big arch that says “Welcome” and art work by Cheryl Geller.

The funky randomness of those olds signs was cool. Sounds like those working on the replacement have some fun ideas. What do you think?

Make sure the cooler is full. We’re taking a long trip today. Boat Cam is off to Virgin Gorda and The Baths.

Boat Cam, below!

Let Trinidad Charlie teach you how to make hot sauce, learn underwater photography from Jamie Irving or Snuba at Trunk Bay.

Those are some of the new workshops added to the Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park’s seminar series this season.  There’s a total of 36 seminars this season, with a dozen brand new offerings, many for as little as $25.

Others include  Spirit Doll-making with our friend Annie Caswell, and a tour of Hassel Island.   Seminars run through mid-April, and we bet you’ll find at least one you’re interested in. Check out the full seminar brochure, here!

The St. John Wine Club just had its first monthly get-together of the season at Ocean Grill. For $25 plus tip, you get to enjoy several wines presented by Shannon Straughan from the Prestige Wine Group on St. Thomas. And the wines are paired with tasty food too.

Last week’s pairings included Napa Station Sauvignon Blanc with pan fried yellowtail snapper and fennel pineapple salsa, Longboard Syrah with vegetable stuffed duck breast, 7 Deadly Zins with New York strip and Portobello parmesan risotto and Montes Late Harvest Gewürztraminer with almond cake and caramel blood orange sauce.

Whoa!

Locals and visitors alike are welcome. Reservations are required. 340-642-9696 or ogwineclub@yahoo.com. The next Wine Club meeting will be at the end of January.

(Thanks Bob Schlesinger for the pictures.)

The annual holiday benefit for the St. John Animal Care Center is this Saturday and it will be retro-1960’s.

The fundraiser, held this year at Tre Vista Estate, will feature Preston Elliot and his new band, Illuminati and flash back music from the Flower Power era.

It also includes food from local restaurants and caterers, a raffle and silent auction.

It’s December 12 from 5:30 to 9:30 pm. Tickets are $85 in advance, $100 at the door. Buy tickets at Connections, or by calling 693-5874.

And props to Kate Norfleet at Katendesign for the really cool art work! Click here to see the full poster.

The Friends of the Virgin Islands National Park is trying a little something different for its latest fundraiser; an online auction.

Current items up for bid include stays at the Sand Castle on Jost or Caneel Bay, local art, jewelry, boat charters and dinners at St. John restaurants.

It’s an eBay-like bidding process and Friends says they’re adding new stuff pretty regularly. And the money goes to Friends. The auctions end December 20th. Take a look, here.