It’s a Georgia tradition: every Labor Day weekend, over 70,000 geeks, nerds, and pop culture enthusiasts — all with a passion for fandom — descend upon downtown Atlanta. This, in a nutshell, is Dragon Con: a five-day convention by fans, for fans, that runs 24 hours a day, spread across five hotels and a building in America’s Mart (and that doesn’t account for the overflow hotels for attendee housing, the annual Dragon Con parade on Saturday morning during the event, and the array of parties and celebrations thrown by local businesses and organizations in celebration of Dragon Con).

In short, fandom is a big deal. And public media is part of the fun.

Some might think that Dragon Con is just Star Trek and superheroes, but a glance at the 2022 through 2024 schedules (at the time of writing, the 2025 schedule was yet to be made available) show a love for PBS programming in "Are You Smarter Than a 90’s Kid: The Great Cartoon Game Show "(an interactive panel featuring PBS KIDS trivia from the era), panels in the Puppetry Track featuring several guests from Sesame Street and the Sesame Workshop, and panels in the BritTrack (Dragon Con programming is sorted into over two dozen “tracks” in spaces throughout the hotels and America’s Mart) featuring popular MASTERPIECE and PBS dramas and mysteries, including but not limited to All Creatures Great and Small, Call the Midwife, Father Brown, and Sherlock. As an avid drama and mysteries fan, these are my favorites to connect with old friends and make new ones: I look forward to the BritTrack every year and have shared some of my adventures there in panels and costuming events with GPB in years past.

A costumer dressed in a blue gown as Eliza Scarlet from Miss Scarlet

Rachel Buchman as Eliza Scarlet from MASTERPIECE "Miss Scarlet" from a 2023 Dragon Con photoshoot

Credit: All Things Lauren Studios/Velvet Flame Photography

But recently, a fan-organized event at Dragon Con has emerged that proudly displays a love for PBS: the annual PBS Classics photoshoot. Fueled by fond memories of PBS KIDS programming and a desire to connect with other PBS fans, the event brings together costumers dressed as their favorite PBS characters together to meet, take pictures, and share their love of PBS.

Bradley Spears is the original creator of the PBS Classics photoshoot. He’s been attending fan conventions for about 10 years, with seven of those years attending Dragon Con. He travels from his home in Texas to Atlanta often during Labor Day weekend for the convention and to host the photoshoot. “I was inspired when I had my first son,” He shared when I asked how the photoshoot came to be. His love for PBS, and LeVar Burton in Reading Rainbow in particular, gave him the idea to make a Reading Rainbow costume and create the PBS Classics group. “Surely, people out there think like I do and want to showcase their love of the '80s, '90s, and PBS as much as I do. There’s nothing better than finding a sense of community.”

The PBS Classics group photoshoot at Dragon Con 2024

The PBS Classics group photoshoot at Dragon Con 2024

Credit: Lucas Lake

And he found that community, one he was instrumental in building into what it is today. As Spears shares, “I welcome anyone who has a love of PBS to join.” What used to take over a corner of a hotel floor, the PBS Classics photoshoot now joins dozens of Dragon Con photoshoots out on the back steps of the Hilton Atlanta hotel, where wide staircases are able to support large costumed gatherings of fans. Some of Spears’ favorite costumes include impressive props and what attendees call "mash-ups," taking two or more different characters, fandoms, or concepts and incorporating them into a singular costume design. From combining Mister Rogers with the likes of Spider-Man (complete with a Green Goblin sock puppet) and Captain America to a Ms. Frizzle who attended with a 5-foot-tall pencil prop, there’s no limit to the creativity attendees bring to their costumes and the photoshoot.

A group of PBS cosplayers at Dragon Con

The PBS Classics photoshoot at Dragon Con 2023

Credit: Bradley Spears

But there is always an array of Mister Rogers, Bob Rosses, Ms. Frizzles, and characters from Sesame Street and Arthur who attend, and Spears is eager for more PBS fans to dress up and join the group. His advice for attending the 2025 photoshoot? “Don’t overthink it. We all loved PBS growing up…we don’t discriminate and we are always welcoming to those who want to show love. Get an idea together, find as many images as possible, take notes, and get to work!” And outfits don’t need to be homemade: store-bought costumes, as easy as a yellow sweatshirt, jeans, and aardvark ears for Arthur Read from Arthur or a Daniel Tiger costume from Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood (an adorable idea for kids, who are encouraged to attend the photoshoot!) are welcome: the group would love to have you, as well as those inspired by PBS programming beyond PBS KIDS programs. 

As Spears reminds us, “It's all about showing love to PBS, showing love to the shows that made us who we are, and giving back in any way possible.”

The 2025 PBS Classics Photoshoot at Dragon Con will take place on Friday, Aug. 29 at 1 p.m. on the Hilton Atlanta back steps. You can find out more information on the photoshoot’s Facebook event and more about PBS Classics costuming on their Facebook group. Dragon Con 2025 takes place Aug. 28 through Sept. 1 in downtown Atlanta.