After months of construction and preparation, Homearama finally opens to the public today.

The nine homes at The Riverfront at Harbour View community in North Suffolk are opening their doors to guests to tour for a 14-day home showcase.

Builder Sam Cohen, with the Joey Corporation that built House 3 for the event, said he thinks guests always anticipate the first day of Homearama.

“The first day is always an exciting day,” he said. “We always look forward to it.”

But before the general public was allowed in, a special preview party was held at the site for guests looking to get a sneak peek at the homes.

Hundreds of people, including city officials, contractors, vendors and community members, came out to the Homearama Charity Preview Party on Friday to be the first to see the finished homes.

The event featured a variety of food samplings and beer and wine for guests to enjoy while making their way through the homes.

Lyle Ritter, who is with Columbia Gas of Virginia, said he was pleased to see how the homes had turned out.

“There are some really beautiful homes,” he said.

Ritter said he was especially impressed by the variety of outdoor living areas at the houses.

Among the crowds, there were several contractors who did work on the homes and came to the party to see the finished product.

Ricardo Brum was one of those contractors. After he did the faux finishing on houses 4 and 5, Brum wanted to see the rest of the houses.

“I’m very impressed with the finished houses and the looks and floor plans of them,” he said. “We love Homearama.”

At House 5, Eric Sasser, with Sasser Construction, greeted guests as they entered the house.

Sasser said he was “tickled pink” with how houses 4 and 5, which he built, turned out. He is looking forward to showing them off to even more people today.

“The openings are always great,” he said.

In addition to opening the homes for the first time, the preview party also revealed the winners of the Homearama awards.

The honors included awards for the most livable home, best kitchen, best use of technology and best home in show.

The Treasure Chest by the Joey Corporation took the most awards of any single home in the show with 13 honors, including best home in show.

Tee Time and Get Pink with Sentara, two houses built by ABT Custom Homes, also took several awards, including the prize for Tidewater Builders Association Past Presidents’ Favorite Home.

Joey Corporation’s Cohen said while he was excited to receive so many awards, he thinks everyone deserved recognition.

“Everyone’s done a really great job,” he said.

Homearama is located on Shelter Cove Court in The Riverfront at Harbour View. The nine homes will be open daily from noon to 9 p.m. from today until Oct. 30.

Tickets for the event are $10 for a one-day pass and $17 for two days.

For more information, visit www.homearama.tv.