MOUNT VERNON — A small but enthusiastic audience showed up at Memorial Theater on Thursday evening to witness the final rounds of “KnoxSquares — A Tribute to Paul Lynde,” a form of Knox Bicentennial tic-tac-toe. Following questions by moderator Mark Jordan, contestant finalists Josh Morrison, John Fair, Jerry Scott and Bob Wise had to decide whether panelists in the squares were giving correct answers or bluffing.

The musical group Elixir started the show with the theme song from the soon-to-be-an-Oscar-winning movie — or at least local residents hope that will be the case — “Hillbilly Bob Zombie.” The trio next asked the audience members to use their imaginations during a rendition of “Skip to My Lou” and “Old McDonald’s Farm,” sung ala the Beach Boys, 1800s-style.

The Knox Choraliers joined Elixir on stage for “Keep on the Sunny Side of the Street,” and the students sang “Cripple Creek” and a blended version of “This Old Man” and “Michael Finnigan.”

Both groups recombined for “I’ll Fly Away,” and also performed the bicentennial song “Common Ground,” written by Mike Petee specifically for the Knox County Bicentennial. In recognition of the county’s bicentennial, the audience joined in with the vocalists and musicians to sing “Happy Birthday, Knox County.”

Morrison and Fair faced off in the first round, pondering responses given by center square Jim Stoner as Paul Lynde, and the other “squares” — Gerry Rensel, Joseph and Marty Bell, Mike and Chris Petee, Joe and Marcy Rinehart, Amy Clawson and Adam Taylor. Morrison won the round after 10 questions, which included references to Kenyon College graduate Rutherford B. Hayes, Henry Knox and the first woman mayor of Mount Vernon.

An authentic “Hollywood Squares” question also surfaced during the round, and the audience roared with laughter. Jordan asked Stoner, “Paul, you’re the world’s most popular fruit. What are you?”

Between Rounds 1 and 2, Jordan quizzed the audience, asking trivia questions relating to Lynde’s life and career.

Round 2 featured Scott and Wise, as well as continued bantering among the panelists, contestants and moderator, with some quips to and from the audience thrown in for good measure. Scott was the victor after the panelists responded to questions like “What do loose lips do?” and “How many fingers does Homer Simpson have?” And the unofficial, rhetorical and anonymous query from someone getting his game shows confused, “Are you smarter than a Knox County politician?”

The championship round between Morrison and Scott was very short. Three questions was all it took for Scott to win a Knox County bicentennial commemorative plaque. Two of the questions seemed to stump most of the audience: “What oil was first used as a laxative by the Egyptians in 1600 B.C?” and “What are the two top-selling spices in the world?”

Mike Petee and Janet Wacker developed the questions for the program, which was sponsored by the Knox County Bicentennial Committee.

Answers to questions in article: Banana; sink ships, eight; castor oil; and mustard and pepper.