Thousands of students seen taking part in St Patrick's Day celebrations in Waterloo

A sea of green could be seen in Waterloo Saturday as young partygoers took over Marshall Street for a St. Patrick's Day themed celebration.

The massive gathering has become a yearly tradition for students, despite security concerns raised by police. 

Students Leah Partridge from Wilfrid Laurier University and friend Maria Pot from the University of Guelph said they saw about a couple thousand students at Saturday's party. 

"Last year, it was a lot crazier and more out of hand," Partridge said. "This year there was more police presence. I didn't really notice anything too crazy."

Pot said the party was very much in line with what she'd expect from university students. 

"There was a volleyball being thrown around for a bit. There was a couple of beer bottles thrown through the air, but I didn't see any fights. No, I didn't see anyone get hurt. I didn't see anyone crazy drunk."

Pot and Partridge say Saturday's party started sometime around noon and they saw the crowd clear up by 5pm.

In a statement posted online, Waterloo Regional Police said it is piloting CCTV cameras for four days to support officers with crowd control and their response to criminal events in relation to the party. 

CBC News has reached out to police to hear more about the number of charges laid during the unsanctioned party Saturday.

Another block party was planned for Sunday, but was cancelled due to the snowstorm.

Some students help with cleanup

A small group of about 20 students in bright yellow vests took advantage of the quiet on the streets on Sunday and began to clean up the empty cans and wrappers left behind by St. Patrick's Day partiers.

Daniel Queiroz-De Souza, a member of the clean up crew, said they also distributed water and snacks to the students during the party.

"We have the opportunity to meet students where they're at, in the midst of it all, and just serve them when they need it the most and have that real in-person connection," he said.

The student group Queiroz-De Souza belongs to is from Base Church. Together, they handed out 20,000 Timbits and 5,000 waterbottles to students taking part in the St Patrick's Day celebrations.

Impact on nearby residents

Kae Elgie, a member of the MacGregor-Albert Community Association, lives a few minutes away from Ezra Avenue, where the party is usually held year-after-year.

She says there was a noticeable difference in crowd-control this year.

"It was very, very, very, very, very crowded, pretty claustrophobic, but it was under control," she said.

She said police had clearly delimited the area and stood by as pedestrian took over the street. 

"You could hardly get a foot down to cross the intersection for about three blocks. It was just packed in the street."

Elgie said this year's party was relatively tame.

"I didn't see anything horrible. I think there might have been some people who were climbing up on people's shoulders or something, but I didn't see people on roofs," she said.