St. Patrick's Day celebrated by street party in Waterloo's university district

The force was on the lookout for underage drinking, consuming alcohol in forbidden places and unlicensed parties that charge money for liquor.

"If there are kegs of beer, and that beer is being sold, that is illegal," said Cherri Greeno, spokesperson for the Waterloo Regional police.

"We will be taking the kegs away. Anyone who is selling any type of alcohol at any party needs to know that that's not legal and that liquor will be confiscated and the party will be shut down."

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"What people need to remember is that not everybody down there is a student. In that area, there are people that live there, there's families," added Greeno.

Students at Wilfrid Laurier's Lutheran seminary opened a quieter, alcohol-free alternative venue: they call it the Sham Rock Cafe.

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"It's about offering a place for folks that want somewhere to be but aren't comfortable doing something with the wide population," said Anne Anderson, community pastor at the Waterloo Lutheran Seminary.

Waterloo paramedics placed doorstep notes around the area, to spread the message about safe partying and alcohol consumption.

"We understand it's a party and it happens every year so we of course want them to have fun, but we want them to do that in a safe way and we want them to be respectful of everyone that lives in that community, not just the students that are there partying," Greeno said.