STV Bavaria's roots date back to the Gesang Verein Blaue Donau, founded in 1912, in Cleveland, Ohio. This group was primarily a singing group. In 1923, a small group of people who brought traditional dancing, called Schuhplattling, joined, and were referred to as the Blaue Donau Schuhplattlers. In January 1966, an organization called the Gauverband Nordamerika, was formed. This organization offere
d the Schuhplattler dancers an opportunity to expand their repertoire, create new friendships, and share ideas with other Schuhplattlers from all over North America. The dancers of the Schuhplattler und Bauerngruppe Blaue Donau were eager to join. At that time, however, membership in Gauverband Nordamerika required that member groups be independent organizations. In October,1966, the difficult decision to become independent of the Schuhplattler und Bauerngruppe Blaue Donau in order to become a charter member of the Gauverband Nordamerika was made. The newly formed group chose the name Schuhplattler und Trachtenverein Bavaria (STV Bavaria.) Bavaria Sängergruppe
The Bierfest program in 1987 featured a theme that offered an opportunity for singing to be included as part of the show. Many of the members who were part of the Bauerngruppe singing society during the 50's and early 60's were invited to sing some of their familiar Alpine songs. From that program, the STV Bavaria Sängergruppe (singer group) evolved, creating an opportunity for many of the non-dancing members to perform. das Glockenspiel
In 2006, STV Bavaria built a Glockenspiel - an elevated cuckoo-clock with a upper-level stage - for the Bratwurstessen program. It was such a success that it became another performance vehicle for the club. Standing 21' tall, with an 8' stage about 8' above the ground, the footprint of the structure is 24 ft. The stage area includes a 10 ft. deep performance area and a 10 ft. deep backstage dressing /green room portion that is hidden from the audience. Beneath the stage is a 480 sq. serving area used for selling specialty shots, glasses and other merchandise. Original skits involving non-traditional dancing and humorous antics are performed on the stage above, every hour on the hour. This entertainment program offers another element to the club, offsetting the traditional singing and Schuhplattler dancing. The membership and Vorstand of STV Bavaria strive to maintain this: “Treu dem guten alten Brauch” true to our good, old customs.
