New Orleans & Co. Announces Fit Fete 2026

December 12, 2025 |By Kelly Hite

NEW ORLEANS – New Orleans & Co. has announced the creation of Fit Fete New Orleans, a weekend-long wellness festival anchored in City Park’s Tad Gormley Stadium and taking place on Nov. 13 – 14, 2026. In hosting the large-scale event, New Orleans & Company is partnering with City Park Conservancy, Premier Event Management, and

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In hosting the large-scale event, New Orleans & Company is partnering with City Park Conservancy, Premier Event Management, and WellNXT—a wellness programming platform that brings together health practitioners, fitness instructors and consumer brands.

“New Orleans & Company is excited to host this inaugural event in an effort to fuel transformation,” said Walt Leger III, President and CEO of New Orleans & Company. “This is more than a series of events. It’s a movement. A moment where business meets betterment. Where beads, beats and balance collide. Where we say yes to living whole – not just on race day or game day, but every day. It’s our effort to join with valued partners to support the New Orleans workforce in living longer, stronger, and more fulfilled lives. We’re modeling what it means to eat with care, and we’re building a blueprint that other cities will follow.”

New Orleans City Park will serve as home base for all Fit Fete New Orleans events, utilizing its 1,300-acre landscape and features which have supported the city for more than 170 years.

“Fit Fete reflects exactly what City Park strives to be, a place where our community can grow stronger together. Hosting this inaugural event at Tad Gormley Stadium and across the Park underscores how vital accessible, active public spaces are to New Orleans’ future, said Rebecca Dietz, President and CEO of City Park Conservancy. “We’re thrilled to welcome thousands of athletes, families, and companies to experience a Park that not only honors its history, but embraces a healthier, more connected New Orleans.

Community Games

Community Games will be held Nov. 13 with team sports competition, individual sports competition, team-building exercises, and community service efforts including a blood drive and food collection drive. Other activities will include opening and closing ceremonies, an Athletes Village Health Expo and a Celebration Concert to close the day.

2026 Community Games Timeline

Period / Date	Events & Activities	Details
April 2026	Crescent City Classic	Start of the Challenge Period
April–Aug. 2026	Pickle Ball Fest	Participants earn points throughout
April–Nov. 2026	Ongoing Challenge Period	Points accumulate toward leaderboard
Nov. 13, 2026	Community Games Day: - Team/Individual Competitions - Blood drive - Food collection - Open/Closing Ceremonies - Athletes Village Health Expo - Celebration Concert	Culmination of the yearlong competition

The culmination of the 2026 Fit Fete New Orleans initiative involves local and regional businesses and organizations competing in the multi-sport Community Games competition promoting employee health and wellness, team building, and community engagement.

Registered participants will accrue points throughout the eight-month period, culminating in final points earned shown on the 2026 leaderboard.

New Orleans & Co. Announces Fit Fete 2026. Getty image.

New Orleans Marathon

The New Orleans Marathon will take place on Nov. 14 presented by Premier Event Management and led by Bill Burke. Race day will include a full marathon, a half-marathon, a marathon relay and a 5K run, all starting and finishing in City Park. The double-loop marathon course will begin at the New Orleans Museum of Art, proceeding to the eastern edge of Lakeshore Drive and finishing on the Park’s Roosevelt Mall.

“After a six-year hiatus from the City of New Orleans, Premier Event Management is proud to partner with New Orleans & Company and return the 26.2-mile New Orleans Marathon back to the streets of the Big Easy,” stated Bill Burke, President and Race Director for Premier Event Management. “What started as a marathon weekend idea scribbled in a notebook 12 months ago, with a double loop marathon course starting and finishing in City Park, has become a full weekend of Community Games and whole wellness, at the inaugural WellNXT Fit Fete for 2026. Join us for what promises to be a great family fitness weekend, at Fit Fete New Orleans and the return of the New Orleans Marathon.”

WellNXT Hub - Dedicated Wellness Zone

WellNXT will be the Fit Fete New Orleans hub anchored at Tad Gormley Stadium. Participants will have the opportunity to participate in five immersive zones—Move, Nourish, Breathe, Care, and Play. There will be brass-beat cardio and mobility classes, chef demos that remix Creole & Cajun favorites with a lighter touch, a shaded Breathe Courtyard for meditation and sound baths, on-site health screenings, quick physical therapy consults and kid-powered obstacle fun.

“New Orleans has always been a city rooted in connection—and now that connection extends to movement, wellbeing, and collective growth,” said Mike Millay, Co-Founder of WellNXT.

Business and Community Involvement

Although Fit Fete New Orleans will not take place until Nov. 2026, the advance Fit Fete New Orleans announcement gives regional employers and community groups time to register for the yearlong Community Games challenge which opens months in advance. Local businesses have time to organize teams, plan wellness initiatives and build the event into their 2026 workforce strategies.

The festival also marks the formal return of the New Orleans Marathon after a six-year hiatus, a development that affects race planning, tourism forecasting and City Park logistics well before race day.

To learn more about Fit Fete New Orleans and how to get your company, bank, law firm, or corporation involved visit nolafitfete.com.