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 Gauverband on May 5, 1984, and have since attended many Gaufests, Fahnenweihe, and Gauverband related functions.

The 1980s saw the group prosper and grow strong in numbers. This expansion pinpointed the need for structure and uniformity, especially in matters concerning Tracht (traditional costume). After joining the Gauverband, we adopted a new Festtracht, which is representative of the Bavarian region of Miesbach. In addition to our Festtracht, the club has three additional dirndl styles worn at various times throughout the year.

The 1980s and 1990s brought forth a greater degree of participation by our club on the statewide level. In 1984, due to the efforts of State Senator George Gunther and many supportive German organizations, Connecticut proudly became the first state to officially proclaim the 6th of October as German-American Day. In 1987, members of H.S.V. Bavaria were very instrumental in the organization of the first statewide German American Day (GAD) Celebration, which was attended by approximately 1,000 people and included unified performances by folk dancers, Schuhplattler groups, and choral societies.

In 1996, after several years of hard work, we presented our Fahne (flag) at a special celebration called a Fahnenweihe. The design of the flag was left mainly to the talents of Allen Schuler, our former Vorplattler. With his computer aided drafting skills, he was able to craft a design after many months of creative research. Allen finished the preliminary design in September 1994, one month before he suddenly passed away. His enthusiasm and guidance will always be remembered by our group. With the help of Niederbayerische Fahnenstickerei, the manufacturer of our flag, the committee chose the final design, colors and materials in June 1995. The flag was finally put into official use at our Fahnenweihe in July 1996.

H.S.V. Bavaria has become increasingly active over the last few years. In 1999, we made 50 performances, including a 4-day Oktoberfest in San Juan, Puerto Rico. We have participated in parades, performed on boats and floats, amusement parks, casinos, clubs, churches, and convalescent homes throughout Connecticut and neighboring states. We often donate our time by performing for charitable organizations in the spirit of goodwill and sharing our heritage with our society and other cultures. We consider ourselves very fortunate in having a multi-talented, supportive group of dancers, musicians, yodelers, bell ringers, singers, and most of all, fun loving individuals interested in upholding tradition and enjoying one another’s company.