Next fall, a new two-day festival at City Park hopes to help New Orleans take a brief break from rich roux and sugar-drenched beignets and instead put a renewed focus on movement and health, officials announced Thursday.

Called Fit Fete , the event is bringing a marathon back to New Orleans — the first time the city has hosted a 26.2 mile race since 2019.

Created in partnership with the City Park Conservancy, New Orleans & Co., health and wellness company WellNXT and others, Fit Fete will be held Nov. 13-14, 2026. It's meant to encourage private and public sector workers across the city to get up from their chairs and move.

"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

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