Nude Summer of Love Parade, San Francisco 2016-08-07

Around 11:30 am the crew arrived, i.e. Gypsy Taub and her family, plus a couple of helpers. As usual they set up posters and got folding chairs in a line so the nudes could stand up on them and better be seen.

Very quickly a crowd of onlookers developed here on Jane Warner Plaza, at the corner of Market and Castro. As Gypsy made her speeches about nudism, and about hippies - with a Jerry Garcia shown on a poster, he being closely identified with the original "Summer of Love", the spectator crowds expanded to about four times the amount of the nudes who had also increased. Cameras galore everywhere, also from a S.F. Chronicle guy.

A parade permit had been granted by the SFPD, and several police cruisers stood ready to escort the group up to Haight Street and out to Stanyan where the Golden Gate Park starts. Instead of departure at 12 noon as scheduled, it became closer to 1:00 pm. It was most hilly and fatiguing, starting with the steep Castro hill, till midway out on Haight Street, and a couple of guys dropped out before Stanyan was reached. Also, from midway out the sidewalks were extremely crowded with regular shoppers and tourists, so the nude group had to snake their way between the clothed pedestrians.

On the Golden Gate Park side of Stanyan the nude group spread out and delivered more speeches, using their bullhorns. The polite police officers didn't interfere except making sure dressed people wouldn't stand out on the street to watch the nudes. They were told to go back on the sidewalks, watch the nudes from there, and not delay vehicular traffic. OK. Anyway, the noise from all the car engines made it hard to hear the nude speeches. Close to 2:30 pm the group started their return up Haight, snaking by he dressed pedestrians Tiresome and unproductive photographically speaking, I decided to go home at that point.

Leif Heilberg, August 2016.