H.S.V. Bavaria Information

H.S.V. Bavaria was founded in 1966, originally consisting of 12 members from our parent organization, the Harugari Singing Society ( Harugari Liedertafel). The history of the Harugari is an interesting one. The word Harugari comes from the old German word Haruc which means "holy shrine; a meeting place under oak trees. Harugari is an ancient Teutonic name for priest. The Deutscher Orden der Harugari was founded on March 8, 1847 in New York City. The Harugari Singing Society was founded in 1875 in New Haven, Connecticut, and moved to its present clubhouse in West Haven after World War II. By 1887, there were at least 250 sub-orders throughout the U.S. The lodge was established to provide services for those members in need. A special purpose was to preserve the German language in the US and to give German-speaking citizens an opportunity to promote their own culture and tradition. The Harugari Schuhplattler, as we were then known, performed for the first time in West Haven in May 1966. In 1974, a children's group was founded by Albert Walz. Many of the former "juniors" are presently members of our adult club, and some have children who are actively involved in our children's group. The current children's group was re-established in 1999, and is approximately 20 dancers strong. In 1978, again under the wise guidance and insistence of Albert Walz, we held our first Schuhplattlerfest. In April of every year since then, we have hosted a Schuhplattlerfest at our clubhouse and invite various dancing groups to attend. After attending our first Gaufest in 1981, the group decided to apply for membership in the Gauverband Nordamerika. This brought about a restructuring of our organization to meet the guidelines to qualify for acceptance in the Gauverband. Our first executive board was elected in 1981, and a club constitution was drawn up and ratified on March 11, 1983. It was at this point that we adopted the name of Harugari Schuhplattler Verein Bavaria, or H.S.V. Bavaria. We were proudly accepted as members into the ...