A procession of people will once again spread a message of love and freedom as they walk the streets of San Francisco unclothed in the annual Nude Valentine's Parade.

The event secured a permit in January and is slated to occur Feb. 17, following a route that starts at Jane Warner Plaza in the Castro and ends on the steps of City Hall.

Gypsy Taub, a 48-year-old nude activist, founded the parade after the city introduced restrictions around public nudity in 2013. Up to 100 people have attended past events and many paint their bodies and hold signs with statements advocating for peace, love and nudity.

Taub will be out of the country on Valentine's Day this year, and there was some concern the parade might not occur.

"There were two sets of applications and one had to be destroyed because the lead organizer in the past won't be here for the event," says Giovanni Vassallo, who is helping organize this year's parade. "The police department didn't want an application from someone who wasn't going to be there."

Vassallo, who also works as an administrative officer at UCSF, offered to help because he wants to keep alive an event that he sees as celebrating "interconnectedness and interdependence."

"Valentine's Day is all about love and, if you ask me, the best love is altruistic, genuine love that's not selfish and that includes loving ourselves and all others and that includes loving our bodies," Vassallo says. "The body isn't something you can ignore. It's the celebration of our inherent core goodness."

Michael Capuano of Long Island, N.Y., will be flying across the country with his wife to walk in the buff, as he feels public places and events where nudity is allowed are disappearing and he wants to support the few that still exist.

Capuano says several years ago nudity was banned at the beaches in his community. He thinks this was a mistake.

"If you go to the regular beaches, there are fights and alcohol and extreme rowdiness," he says. "You find on nude beaches it's calm and peaceful."

People will begin gathering for the parade between 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m. on Feb. 17 and the walk is slated to start at 11 a.m. sharp.