The country presentations, one of the livelier Carifesta activities, kicked off at the Sophia exhibition site on Saturday with stimulating performances from the Bahamas and Suriname.

A section of the Surinamese delegation.

In an opening act that reflected the rich diversity of their country and which mirrored that of Guyana’s, Suriname paraded its ethnic groups showcasing dazzling Amerindian; African and Indian wear before taking over the stage at Sophia with a few impacting cultural performances.

As the Surinamese indigenous group performed before the fairly large crowd comments of how similar they are to the Amerindians in Guyana were repeatedly made. Suriname was not scheduled to have a country presentation on Saturday last but they were bumped up following a few scheduling problems.

The change had no impact on the group as they took to the stage and won over the local crowd. It was as if they had been ready long before they were to be called upon.

The Bahamian contingent stormed on stage with an energetic choir dubbed, ‘Carifesta Chorale’, and had some persons in the audience asking why they were not included in the opening ceremony which was still being discussed with mixed reactions.

But even as questions were floating around the exhibition site a different story started to emerge as the Bahamas performed- where did they find that drummer?

Though it was a country presentation the Bahamian man on drums stole the show. His versatility on the drums was incredible as he moved from beat to beat.

With eyes fixed solely on him and his drums for the period he was on stage, there was a strange quiet in that section of the exhibition site.

“Is he for real where did he train”, a woman kept asking after he exited the stage to resounding applause.

The Bahamas richly entertained with their choir and the drummers. They took time to rap with the audience and related how impressed they were with Guyana.

They pointed out that Carifesta X1 will be in their country in 2010 and threw out an invitation for Guyanese to visit during the festival.

Junkanoo, which is a Bahamian festival similar to carnival, was among one of the highlights the country had promised but owing to shipping problems they were unable to bring the colour and splendour of the festival to Sophia.

Some persons turned up at Sophia hoping to see more activity there with some saying that things were flat save for the country presentations.

One man was optimistic that as the days go by the exhibition site will get better.