Students party on Ezra Street for St. Patrick's Day 2017

St. Patrick's Day celebrations took over the Ezra Street neighbourhood in Waterloo Friday, as an estimated10-15 thousand peoplejoined the giant street party.

What used to be smaller house parties less than a decade ago has grown into an all-out festival where thousands of students crowd onto the sidewalks and street or meander from student residence to student residence.

There was police presence, but mostly officers were there to keep students safe and discourage them from moving off private property with their alcohol although that presenteda challenge given the size of the crowd.

• St. Patrick's Day partying underway in university district
• Drinking on St. Patrick's day not your thing? Sham Rock Cafe is an alternative
• How social media brings reputation risk for St. Patrick's revelers

There was a steady stream of students early in the afternoon and a police officer at the scene said by evening the crowd could grow to 15,000.