Everything you need to know about Greek Fest: the food, the hours, the takeout and more...

Check out Richmond.com's Guide to Greek Fest for slideshows, tips on best food, parking suggestions, takeout menus and much more.

She's the power-lunged Oscar and Grammy winner who has emerged from a family tragedy with unspeakable grace and class.

He's the blue-eyed soul man whose sexy tunes have nabbed him an ardent female following and critical respect for his muscular funk.

Jennifer Hudson and Robin Thicke don't have a ton in common -- except a shared love of R&B -- but somehow, their joint tour makes a ton of sense.

Both are at a similar midlevel point in their careers: Hudson's self-titled debut, released last year, sparked the single "Spotlight," which made it into the Top 20 on Billboard's singles chart, and Thicke finally popped through to the mainstream with 2006's "The Evolution of Robin Thicke."

They're well-known names, but their recognition is for their talent, not their celebrity.

Hudson, actually, is the rare "American Idol" castoff who is known more for her post-show accomplishments than any critical beat-downs from Simon Cowell.

However, the 27-year-old Hudson found herself in a media tsunami last fall when her mother, brother and nephew were killed in Chicago; her brother-in-law, William Balfour, has been charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

But it was Hudson's heart-pounding version of the national anthem at this year's Super Bowl -- her first public appearance since the slayings -- that re-established her strength and her vocal prowess.

Now, she and 32-year-old Thicke, whose latest album, "Something Else," has spawned the hit "Magic," are at the midpoint of a six-week co-headlining tour (which comes to Richmond's Landmark Theater on Sunday).

The two recently participated in a conference call with a handful of reporters. They discussed what to expect from the show and who they would like to do a duet with if given the chance.

Q. Jennifer, how are you preparing for your first tour?

A. Well, you know, I got my feet a little wet, OK, maybe my toes, with the "American Idol" tour. But I always feel like a student or a sponge and I'm just trying to learn and absorb, and I'm just finding my way [into] the groove of things. I'm always blessed to have many people around that are experienced to help me through it.

Q. Robin, you've said this album is inspired by'70s soul and funk, so will there be a killer horn section on this tour?

A. I've been running around with my horns for about a year. And Jennifer, I believe, is going to include the horns on a few of her songs, and I'mgoing to include her background singers on a few songs, and we're just going to try to do whatever it takes to give the people the very best show they can have.

Q. What is the format of the show? Are you going to flip headliners every night, and will there be any time when you might share the stage together?

A. [Thicke] We want to keep people guessing a little bit, so I think it's probably best not to give it all away. But we plan on sharing the stage together, and I think it is something people would want to see and we want to give the people what they want.

Q. Robin, how is your new album coming? I hear you're working with Pharrell [Williams].

A. Yes, I was [just] in the studio with him. The last album, I was going for a certain thing, and sometimes when an artist knows what he wants to do with his canvas, he closes the door to everyone else. But on this album, I really wanted to open it up to all of the best in the business and just try to open my sound, so I'm working with all the best right now.

Hudson: That's a hot idea.

Thicke: I'm going to call you; don't worry. When I get all my songs together, I'll call you.

Q. What you're doing -- a male-female co-headlining tour -- is pretty unique. Why do you think that's such a rarity these days?

A. [Thicke] I think some of it is because of the genre of music. Whether you've got your Pussycat Dolls-Britney Spears tour and that's for the girls or certain types of guy fans and then you've got your Lil Wayne-Kanye-type tour. I think nowadays, people don't balance the two entities. But I think with Jennifer and I, we're both real, just singers, who are just singing our hearts out, and I think people are just coming to see good music and good singers.

Q. Jennifer, if there is any artist that you would like to do a song with, who would it be?

A. Whitney [Houston] is definitely my No. 1 pick to do a duet with. I'd be happy if I could sing backup, duet for Whitney; it don't matter, I'll do it.

Thicke: I just want to snap my fingers on the track.

Q. Jennifer, you're the only person so far who has gone from reality TV to winning an Academy Award. Who would your money be on for the next person to ever do that?

A. Honey, I didn't expect to be that person, so Lord knows. I mean, anybody who dreams that impossible dream and knows they have no limits -- that's just the kind of dreamer I am. It's like I don't see limits, and I don't believe it when people tell me, oh, you cannot do this or just because you were eliminated from "Idol," you'll never be seen again. I don't listen to that.

Q. Robin, what would you tell aspiring singers who might not catch their big break right away?

A. I think Jennifer and I have parallel careers in some ways, where we both had the voice when we were very young and it took us a little longer to get our chance. But we kept fighting and we kept believing; something in our spirit, something up high told us to keep believing and keep training. And that's what people have to do. They have to look inside, and they cannot give up hope.

At this stage of his career, chef Paul Elbling undoubtedly can prepare a crepe with his eyes closed and a spatula tied behind his back.

On a recent evening at St. Joseph's Home for the Aged, though, his primary task wasn't to make crepes but to teach a small group of volunteers, including nuns, how to. A higher power was definitely at work: The crepes came out beautifully.

"They're learning," Elbling said with a smile.

The thin, pancake-like crepes will be available for tasting Saturday, at the first Little Sisters of the Poor French Food Festival. The event will feature French foods and desserts, and a French boutique with cookbooks, preserves and other merchandise. Children's activities will include a "Create-a-Crepe Corner."

All proceeds will benefit the Little Sisters' mission of helping the elderly poor.

"We're very excited to be able to share our French culture and our French roots," said Sister Eva Maria, director of nursing and one of the crepe-flipping volunteers. "A lot of people in Richmond don't know we exist, or they don't know what we do."

Little Sisters of the Poor, an international order founded in France when Jeanne Jugan opened her home to an elderly blind woman, have operated in Richmond since 1874. A dozen nuns, plus lay staff and volunteers, provide care for more than 100 residents at the St. Joseph's Home, at the corner of Three Chopt and Michaels roads.