PARIS – Nine homes will be open to the public when the semiannual Paris Hill Holiday House Tour kicks off Friday.

The two-day event draws visitors from as far away as Boston, said Mike Brown, president of the Paris Hill Community Club. Brown and his wife, Holly, help organize the tours every other year to raise money for maintenance of the Paris Academy Building. The community club is in charge of maintaining the property, Brown said.

The tour, he continued, is “mainly is a volunteer effort.”

Between 600 and 800 people travel to Paris for the event every other year, bringing in between $12,000 and $16,000, he said. A small stipend is given to homeowners who open their houses to visitors. The rest of the money, Brown said, goes toward upkeep of the academy building.

The academy, a Paris Hill landmark, was built in 1856 and served as a school until 1901, he said.

Brown and his wife have spent the past two weeks putting up holiday decorations for the tours. Their house boasts six Christmas trees, Brown said. “They’re decorated right to the hilt, and most of them are period decorations.”

Some of the homes included on the tour date back to the late 1700s, Brown said, “So they’re among the oldest houses in town.”

No reservations are necessary. The tour may be taken between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, and costs $25 with lunch or $20 without lunch. Visitors should stop at the Paris Academy Building on Paris Hill Road to begin, Brown said.