There were 3 special "times" a year in St.Alban's. They were Christmas, The Feast of Assumption and St.Anne's Day.

Christmas :

For twelve consecutive nights during Christmas, a dance was held in a different house in the community. In the morning, two men were selected to go around and seek out house in which the dance for the night could be held. Dancing went on from 8:00 P.M. till midnight and sometimes much later. Some of the music that was typically played at these Christmas dances were " The Four Hand Reel " and " The Eight Hand Reel ". At these dances the women wore full - skirted dresses and the men wore hand - made suits and long boots.

Feast of The Assumption :

This feast was celebrated on the 15th of August of each year. It was sometimes called " St. Virgin's Day. " On this day there would be a " fair " which was held to raise money for the church. Coupons, instead of money, were used to purchase things at the " fair". At the " fair " there was a fish pond as well as tables where you could buy syrup, tea and cookies.

The feast of the Assumption was one of the biggest days in St.Alban's. People from all over would make an attempt to get to the fair. People from the " bottom" ( St.Veronica's) would even camp out at Birchy Point for the night.

St.Anne's Day :

One of the oldest customs of St.Alban's, which was probably around during the earliest days of the settlement, was that of the pilgrimage to Conne River on St.Anne's Day. On July 26th the people of St.Alban's and surrounding area would travel to Conne River to celebrate the Mass of the feast of St.Anne. During the Mass the older people would go inside the church while the younger ones would stay outside. The girls wore long white dresses and the church was decorated with fir boughs and purple wild flowers. People usually got to Conne River in schooners or Co-op boats.

St.Anne's Day was also an important day for the people of Conne River. Many of them would spend a great deal of time in preparation for the upcoming festivities. When Bowaters was in operation the workers from Conne River would take a couple of days work to help prepare for this day.

After the Mass there would be a procession from the church to the Graveyard, around the beach and back to the church again. During the procession a statue of St.Anne would carried at front and the rosary would be recited. The trail of the procession was marked with the tops of trees placed about 10 feet apart.

After the religious ceremonies were over there would be a big party or " time " in which a large fire would be lit to cook the meats and boil the kettles. The men usually took care of the fire while the women tended the tables. There would be a dance that night for the people of Conne. Most of the people had left earlier that day after the Mass or the "time ".