Justin Bieber: Steps to Stardom. John Kastner

right by our front door, and on the way out we ask visitors to put in a pin that marks the country they call home. We have run out of pins twice, and the map quite literally has pins on every corner of the map.

      The number of pins from Japan, the Philippines, Brazil, France, and Mexico never ceases to amaze us.

      And after the exhibit had been around for a few months, we started to see patrons that we recognized as having been here at least once, sometimes two and three times, people from Florida and Indiana and Horseheads, New York.

      Needless to say, we are very proud of the Steps to Stardom exhibit and the way it touches people, but we are most proud that Justin also likes the exhibit and finds it comfortable visiting. When he does drop in, we always try to give him his space. He has been here with family, dropped in by himself, he once brought Jaden Smith with him, and then his new wife Hailey, not long after they were married.

      We know that this exhibit will not last forever, but it will be forever remembered by the Beliebers and the people who look after and run the Stratford Perth Museum. That is one of the reasons why we have put so many of the items and the narrative that goes with them into this book that will serve as a keepsake both for the museum and its patrons.

      When I left the Beacon Herald, lots of people told me I should write a book. I always replied “Never.” Well, Never Say Never.

      AN ARMY OF BELIEBERS

      The Stratford Perth Museum was certainly caught off guard by the interest in the Steps to Stardom exhibit. Within a few hours of news of the exhibit being published in the local newspaper, we were inundated with media requests.

      We soon realized that this was something special for Beliebers, and we increased the size and scope of the exhibit dramatically. We also put tickets for the opening weekend on sale online, and after seeing hundreds of tickets sold in the first hour, we made the decision that people would need tickets in advance. The opening weekend was Family Day, and we were sold out on Sunday and the holiday Monday. Over 1,000 people went through the museum that weekend.