AUBURN – Maybe the annual Mother/Daughter Doll Tea should be renamed the mother-daughter-grandmother tea.

On Saturday the popular event, where little girls arrive dressed up with their dolls, their mothers and grandmothers, attracted a record crowd, organizers said.

At 3 p.m., an hour before it ended, the tea was still bustling. “We’ve had 140 adults and 135 children. That’s the biggest ever,” said Janet Eustis, tea chairwoman. “It was like a three-generation thing. Little girls with their friends, their mothers, their grandmothers.”

Unlike most Saturday events, jeans were not part of the scene. It was all dresses and fancy footwear. Some girls wore gloves. Many wore fairy rings on their heads.

The tea is held by the Woman’s Literary Union at its historic Horatio G. Foss mansion on Elm Street. This year was the 15th annual tea.

Females of all ages enjoyed sweets and tea in dainty teacups, listened to stories and browsed the doll boutique. For the first time, tea-goers met fairy tale characters, princesses and Prince Charming, played by high school and college students. “The characters were a big draw,” Eustis said.

The swan princess was played by Brenna Rasmussen of Edward Little High School, who attended the tea when she was little. “My grandmother, my mother and my aunt are all part of it. I’ve been coming for years.” Getting dressed up, little girls enjoy feeling grown up. “It’s classy,” Rasmussen said. “The house is beautiful, also.”

Tinkerbell was played by Anastasia Eustis, a University of Southern Maine student; Gretel (of “Hansel and Gretel”) by Danielle Perron, also a USM student. Central Maine Community College student Chris Salzberg was about the only male around. He was Prince Charming. “My girlfriend is Snow White,” he said.

The characters said the girls enjoyed meeting them. “We’ve had lots of pictures and hugs,” said Eustis in her green Tinkerbell costume.

Rita Dube brought three of her granddaughters, Bethany, 8, and identical twins Michelle and Gabrielle, 4. “This is a special occasion,” Dube said. “A little touch of class in their life doesn’t hurt.”

Saturday was Bethany Dube’s third tea. She looks forward to it. The best part, she said, is “the goodies.”