Here's what St. Patrick's Day looked like at Waterloo's biggest unsanctioned street party
CBC News | Posted: March 17, 2019 9:51 PM | Last Updated: March 17, 2019
Image | Ezra Avenue St. Patrick's Day 2019
Caption: The unsanctioned street party draws thousand to Ezra Avenue every St. Patrick's Day. (Joe Pavia/CBC)
Thousands of party-goers took to Ezra Avenue in Waterloo to celebrate St. Patrick's Day on Sunday.
CBC Kitchener-Waterloo was there to capture the scene as the unsanctioned party grew throughout the afternoon.
Waterloo Regional Police had an increased presence in the area due to the expected crowds.
Earlier in the morning, barricades were set up at Bricker Avenue and Clayfield Avenue. Some students also started to gather on porches and in front yards, dressed in green.
Image | St. Patrick's Day 2019 barriers Ezra Avenue
Caption: Waterloo Regional Police set up barriers and began patrolling the area around Ezra Avenue Sunday morning. Const. Ashley Dietrich said police have had to adopt a "stricter approach" as the unsanctioned St. Patrick's party has grown over the years. (Joe Pavia/CBC)
Image | St. Patrick's Day 2019 Ezra house fence
Caption: The landlord of one student house on Ezra Avenue set up a fence along the property. "I’m guessing it’s because the landlord wants to keep as many people who don’t live here out," student Stefano Sestito said. "So just probably avoid destruction of property or whatnot, so stuff doesn’t become too rowdy." (Joe Pavia/CBC)
Image | St. Patrick's Day 2019 Waterloo Slate Church
Caption: Mandy Dekoning (left) and Shantelle Matos are members of a community outreach team with Slate Church in Waterloo. They brought 13,000 water bottles and 10,000 Timbits to hand out to students gathering on Ezra Avenue for St. Patrick's Day. (Joe Pavia/CBC)
As the crowd grew, police shut down Ezra Avenue and Bricker Avenue due to concerns for public safety.
The crowd was estimated to be as large as or even larger than in 2018, which saw more than 20,000 people gather on Ezra Avenue.
Police planned to maintain a presence in the area throughout the night and into the early morning, to manage the crowd, ensure public safety and enforce any laws.
A final tally of calls for service, fines and charges is expected in the coming days.