A sure sign that spring is near: It’s time to try out for the Lions Follies.

Tryouts will be Sunday at the Kemp Rebekah Lodge, located on Odell Highway at Summit Road in Odell.

The yet-untitled 2008 Follies will run April 4, 5, 10, 11 and 12 and marks a return to the traditional venue, the Hood River Middle School auditorium. The Lions had to use Westside Elementary School last year because of the January 2007 storm damage to the historic performance hall.

Anyone new to Follies is asked to come at 1:30 p.m. Sunday; singers should bring an accompanying tape or CD.

Past Follies performers are asked to come at 2:30 p.m.

The script will be handed out and a read-through is planned, along with working on selected songs and planning rehearsal schedules.

According to returning director Bev Bridgewater, women are needed for song and dance routines. The writers are still finalizing the script but the new Follies is slated to include a tribute to the 1927 origins of the auditorium, and bring the audience up to present day, with stops in the 1940s, the old Hood River High School (turned middle school in 1970), a disco scene, presidential debate, and a Saturday Night Live spoof.

There are numerous on-stage parts and backstage roles available. Bridgewater said that with many scenes and characters, “we can schedule specific rehearsals for certain scenes.”