The Teddy Bear House Museum welcomed visitors of all ages for a look at more than 15,000 teddy bears on Monday. The grand opening event included refreshments, sandwiches and a special Teddy Bear House Museum cake for the guests.

“Thank God we are opening today. I wanted to make sure everybody could see it for Christmas. The holidays are always a lot of fun when we gave tours in New Orleans, now it’s bigger here in Picayune,” Owner Ricky Lenart said.

Lenart is confident the museum will help bring business to the city of Picayune.

“We’ll have all kinds of things happening. It’s not just for kids, it’s also for adults. We do have the teddy bear tearoom, which is for parties and such. We have a back room which is for weddings or special events. We will have two festivals in the spring and the fall where people will have booths all outside the museum,” Lenart said. “We’re hoping that bus tours come in from all over the place. I’ve talked to people from Georgia about it.”

A friend of Lenart told him that that 90 some ladies will be coming in December.

There were a number of people touring the museum for the grand opening and there was a buzz about the place. Brittany Ray, a local mother of three, said she was looking forward to bringing her kids and having one of her children’s birthdays at the museum.

“Kids are really going to enjoy it and that’s what I’m really excited about. It’s very kid-oriented. I think people will really enjoy the Mardi Gras and Christmas themes during the holidays,” Ray said.

Teddy bear enthusiast Brenda Quirk is excited for the museum’s opening because of the new experience it brings to the Picayune community.

“The museum is for everybody. There are a million teddy bears, not just 15,000 teddy bears. There are teddy bears on everything in here. And it brings joy to people,” Quirk said.

The museum costs $10 for adults ages 13-61, $8 for senior citizens and children 12 and under can tour the museum for $6. It is open Tuesday-Sunday 12-5 p.m. Lenart said that if visitors get there by 5 p.m., they can stay and tour the museum until 6 p.m. It is located at 1299 S Haugh Ave in Picayune.