The results of the eight month of the Culture Vulture challenge are in.

This month the prize fund was 125 USD paid in Steem. Congratulations to all those who entered and to the winners. If you haven't come across these Steemians before you may enjoy checking out their blogs.
Culture Vulture
The tag #culturevulture is a place where, here on Steemit, you can share something unique about your country with the world. Instead of being a tag about travel or tourism this tag is more about sharing experiences.
February
The eight month of this challenge has been the biggest yet. The highlights of this month for me was the growth in entries from the Indonesian Community, and the "My Home Town Challenge" by . These brought many new entries to CV.
To date we have seen participants from; Japan, Armenia, Taiwan, Indonesia, Nigeria, Singapore, Hong Kong, India, Philippines, South Africa and Burma, France, Ireland, China, Vietnam, Borneo and more.
There has been 4,800 entries, 20,000 SBD generated in post payouts. Entries have received 98,000 votes and 31,000 comments. That is phenomenal engagement. The number of contributing authors has also just gone over the 1,000 mark which is a big milestone for this challenge.
If your new to Steemit, this challenge and others like it are a great way to get noticed and build your following and network.
Translations
This competition is a monthly competition but each week you have a chance to get a further prize.
The CN translation project is where select posts are being translated to Chinese (weekly) with the original author sharing in the rewards and exposure from those posts. This is an initiative ran by and
.

The Culture Vulture Tag
The posts you will find using this tag are not just travel posts, but posts that share cultural experiences. These experiences are the magic that I travel to experience and #culturevulture now brings them here to steemit.
was the guest judge this month. A big thank you and a shoutout to the Indonesian community where
is very active.
1st Place 60 USD
The winning post this month
a photographer from Indonesia began posting in the CV challenge back in December. He has really captured the spirit of the challenge with this his 5th entry.
The post takes us on a vist to a funeral ceremony in Bali. shares the story of the day with us through photographs but also captions of the different stages of the ceremony.

Congratulations on winning the competition this month, 60 USD (17.5 Steem) is on the way.
Themes
Each month we give prizes specifically for Culture Vulture Themes.
(We pick entries in each category, you don't need to tag or write anything specific just give the focus of your post on a particular theme)
Festivals 15 USD
A festival is an event that is celebrated by a community centering on an aspect of the community or culture. Every country or region has different festivals and even regional local celebrations. Festivals often have a religious origin but may also mark the end of a season or commemorate a major event in the history of the community.
Festivals are great to experience when you travel because they usually showcase the best local speciality foods, music, art as well as being great fun and a time for holidays.
first posted in CV last November and shared two entries with us this month. This post about “The Night of the Shiva” in Nepal combines detailed descriptions as well as wonderful photographs of the festival.

Congratulations 15 USD (4.4 Steem) is on the way.
Food 15 USD
In some respects nothing expresses a culture more than its food. The climate, culture, religion, the family structure and even way of life are all represented. When we travel or live overseas nothing brings you home like the taste or aroma of a dish from your childhood.
Food is close to my heart and the types of food we eat, when we eat it, who we eat it with .What is that food you pack your suitcase with when you travel?
is a regular contributor and this month takes the prize for food. In her post you can read about Maslenitsa, Pancake week, in Russia.

Congratulations 15 USD (4.4 Steem) is on the way.
Customs & Traditions 15 USD
What are traditions, why are they important and how can you experience them?
Traditions passed down from generation to generation may have a symbolic meaning or cultural significance; clothes, dress, food, holidays, family gatherings, pass-times. Traditions and customs are bound tightly to our cultural identity and may not always be the easiest for outsiders to grasp.
For me it's much more fun to stay in local accommodation when I travel. You get to experience local customs first hand instead of the generic 5 Star treatment that some hotels offer. This is what made the tradition of the Irish B&B world famous but increasingly there are examples from all over the world of homestays and other cultural exchanges that you experience.
from Aceh is a regular contributor to CV since the beginning of the year. This month for the CV challenge we get some wonderful descriptions and photography of the Traditional Dress in West Sumatra.

Congratulations 15 USD (4.4 Steem) is on the way.
Art 15 USD
"#culturevulture" considers art as a physical expression of creativity. It takes many forms from the visual to performance arts. Art can change the temperature of a room, it inspires, it heals unites and can divide people. Art often provides a focal point to a celebration. Like food, art is a rich expression of our culture.
"#culturevulture" will be a place to share expressions of the visual arts such as paintings , photography , sculpture and architecture, the performing arts such as dance and music and also the literary arts such as the written word and poetry.
Art provides a universal and accessible and portable way to experience a culture, no matter the language or the form. Why not write about Art that expresses your culture and share some photos (your own work please) on #culturevulture today?
has been sharing all apsects of Japanese culture with us for the last few months, you can read in this post about sewing the Kimono for the first time.

Congratulations 15 USD (4.4 Steem) is on the way.
Notable Mentions 5 USD
Unfortunately there could only be one winner but several posts deserve notable mentions and will each get 5 USD
takes us on a journey panning for gold in Lango Indonesia. This is a very interesting story and what I really like about is the way
tells it. It's exactly the experience a tourist would have visiting the area. Check it out.

Congratulations 5 USD (1.45 Steem) is on the way.
February
The total Prize fund paid out this month was 125 USD (36.24 Steem)
Many thanks to for a generous donation to the prize fund this month and to
and
for the wonderful initiative to translate some picks to Chinese and helping to spread the word of this challenge to a broader audience. Several people have contributed from all over the world to help me translate this challenge into multiple languages. A big thank you to all those who have helped out
,
,
,
,
.
A shout out and thank you to all those who have taken part this month. If you wish to support this challenge you may write an article, donate to the monthly prize fund, spread the word, resteem or most importantly check out the tag from time to time and comment and upvote peoples posts. Thank you for reading.
March Challenge
For the full announcement about the next monthly challenge and prize fund you will have to wait a few more days but feel free to enter today using the #culturevulture tag.
Blogger Central
"#culturevulture" is on Discord as part of the Blogger Central () family.
Join us for chat and some great content at https://discord.gg/pJXKRJV
As part of a Blogger Central initiative spearheaded by the Minnow Translation Project will also be involved in spreading Culture Vulture to multiple languages and getting increased exposure for selected posts. Read more about the MTP at Introducing Minnow Translation Project
Steemit Bloggers' Central strives to be a hub for the Steemit community to share their blogs, provide Steemit news, and host current Steemit related tutorials.
If you wish to support this challenge you may write an article, donate to the monthly prize fund, resteem or most importantly check out the tag from time to time and comment and upvote peoples posts. Thank you for reading. I will post about this months competition in a few days but any posts from today on that have the #culturevulture tag will be included in this months competition.
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I look forward to hearing about your culture in March.
Thank you for reading this. I write on Steemit about Blockchain, Cryptocurrency and Travel.
Images are from the linked authors unless otherwise stated.