Nudists celebrate the Summer of Love in Castro



Click ahead to see photos of the celebration. Nudists celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love in the Castro.

Click ahead to see photos of the celebration. Nudists celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love in the Castro. Image 1 of / 44 Caption Close Nudists celebrate the Summer of Love in Castro 1 / 44 Back to Gallery

Nudist revelers celebrated the Summer of Love with a naked parade in the Castro on Saturday afternoon. Wacky hats graced the heads of many participants, but that was about the only item of clothing to be seen, with the exception of the fully clothed passersby and citizen photographers.

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The permitted parade was organized by nude activist Gypsy Taub, one of the figures on the forefront of the opposition to San Francisco's nudity ban, which was enacted in 2012 by Supervisor Scott Weiner. Taub gave a speech to the small crowd, officially dedicating the festivities to the 50th anniversary of the Summer of Love and the "spiritual awakening of unprecedented proportions" it ushered into San Francisco.

"The Summer of Love began in the 60s but it never ended," reads a transcript of the speech on Taub's NSFW website, My Naked Truth.

Marchers joined at Jane Warner Plaza at 11 a.m. before winding their way through the Castro and Haight-Ashbury. Although touted as a parade, protest signs peppered the parade, many scribbled with phrases such as "Say no to body shame" and "Stop the SF nudity ban."

See photos from the parade (some of which contain nudity) in the above gallery.

The parade's nudity permit lasts until 2:30 p.m., at which time participants will be required to cover up.

Diane de Guzman contributed to this story.

Read Michelle Robertson’s latest stories and send her news tips at mrobertson@sfchronicle.com.



