Have You Seen The Britney Spears Museum?

[FUDGE]

The Britney Spears Museum: A quirky pop star shrine in Tangipahoa Parish

The Britney Spears Museum, located inside the Kentwood Museum in the rural Tangipahoa Parish town of Kentwood, is a quirky shrine for fans of the pop superstar who is a Kentwood native. The museum contains memorabilia, fan-donated items such as a miniature stage diorama created by one of her fans, and even the pop singer's entire bedroom set from her childhood home. The collection creates a stark contrast to the exhibits on rural life and local history found in adjacent rooms of this museum that looks from the outside like an ordinary old house, with a doorbell the rare visitor rings to be admitted.

From the outside, the Britney Spears Museum, located inside her hometown Kentwood Museum, looks like an ordinary old house where a grandma might live. You'd never guess that it's a shrine to a princess of pop, or that inside are huge feathered wings, boxed Britney Barbie dolls, or the actual bed and bedspread a young Spears would lie on when she began to make headlines.

A line of Britney calendars greets you in the first of four rooms. Visitors on the pilgrimage see the superstar grinning, staring sensually, or flashing a bit of skin. The calendars -- donated by a European fan -- are juxtaposed against an antique Victrola in the adjacent room, where an exhibit is devoted to domestic life and rationing during the tough time of the World War II era.

On Friday (Jan. 30), a tour guide named Fay (she preferred to not give her last name or be photographed) described the visitors to the quirky museum; there are almost as many Europeans as there are Americans. She shows the sign-in book. Many hail from California, Italy or France. There aren't hordes of them, and those who show up at the old house need to ring the front doorbell to be admitted. But some who come have a real passion for the pop icon, and a select few, including a gentleman from Marseilles, France, will visit over and over.

Does Spears herself ever show up when in town?

"Not in a while, she did when we first opened," Fay said. The singer's family still passes through, and much of what's on display was donated by them, including items from Spears' childhood bedroom -- furniture, plush toys, decorations, dolls -- which have been reassembled into a girlish domestic scene.

If there was a devotional focal point of the place, this would be it: a light-up miniature replica of the stage used in a Spears HBO concert filmed during her "Dream Within a Dream" tour of 2001-2002. Fan club member Randy Head of Salem, Ore., designed the stage on his computer, shopped craft stores for materials, and assembled the one-of-a-kind-unique diorama of devotion. He had the overhead structure holding the stage lights made by a welder, and it's illuminated by 600 Christmas lights.

For a $3 donation, visitors are allowed to snap photos of the huge feathered wings Spears wore for her 2011 Femme Fatale tour; she ended the show by "flying" from a platform above the stage wearing the giant appendage that die-hard fans will instantly recognize. There's a jaguar headdress she wore, there's a big trophy she won in a pageant -- for the talent portion of the competition -- when she was a child.

Non-fans will probably find it ho-hum, or, at best, a quirky novelty. But diehards of the "Leave Britney Alone!" contingent will surely be glad they spent a few moments at the epicenter of Spears culture in the simple little town that has no other tourist attraction.

The Kentwood Museum is free, but donations are accepted and encouraged. Only open on some Saturdays, a few weekdays a week, and only before 3 p.m., the irregular hours might require a phone call to verify prior to heading out. You'll find it approximately one hour northwest of Mandeville at 204 Avenue E, Kentwood.

[X-Ander]

I need to go there in my life!!!!!

[Godney Jeansus]

i didn't know this existed

but the fact that kentwood doesn't like strangers, gays and black people makes it difficult to go

[FUDGE]

i didn't know this existed

but the fact that kentwood doesn't like strangers, gays and black people makes it difficult to go

[Godney Jeansus]

exactly that

[Jonte]

I feel awkward about this... Is it like official or just a crazy fan that bought a house and decided to recreate Britney's bedroom?

[PrinceAli89]

Wow, that place looks amazing. I've always wanted to go to Kentwood sometime in my life and see the museum, Her mom's mansion Serenity, Nyla's, etc.

i didn't know this existed

but the fact that kentwood doesn't like strangers, gays and black people makes it difficult to go

Why do you say that?

[Godney Jeansus]

Why do you say that?

cause is true

[MissBuffySpears]

It was closed when I went but I peeked inside and saw some posters Same with NYLA's burger basket.. Closed but peeked in and they had a lot of posters on the wall. I felt like such a stalker when I was in Kentwood lol.

[PrinceAli89]

cause is true

Oh well Kentwood better get ready for me baby, cause I'm coming to see my idol's hometown!

[Godney Jeansus]

Oh well Kentwood better get ready for me baby, cause I'm coming to see my idol's hometown!

try not to show to much cause this people are really rude

and i want to go there too

[REB3LLION]

[PrinceAli89]

try not to show to much cause this people are really rude

and i want to go there too

That's kinda messed up because a large part of her fanbase are gay guys. Oh well, you can't please everybody.

[timrandon]

Why are people stereotyping Kentwood and the South in general. Isn't the town like 60 or 70 percent black.

[timrandon]

The town can't be too bigoted or prejudice, it produced Britney, who is the least judgmental person there is.

[Nostalgia]

I have been there twice. I most recently went last month, on January 9th. The lady who runs the museum gave me a lot of Circus tour merchandise for free, including the CD and some shirts. I love the museum. I took a lot of pictures.

[GetToWorkBitch]

I'd love to go there. The museum looks cool! If I was going to see Britney in Vegas I'd combine it with a visit to Kentwood.

[X-Ander]

I have been there twice. I most recently went last month, on January 9th. The lady who runs the museum gave me a lot of Circus tour merchandise for free, including the CD and some shirts. I love the museum. I took a lot of pictures.

could you please share them???