Carolingia does lots of things well.  To be more precise, Carolingia "does
lots of things" well: what's so remarkable about the barony is the great
number and variety of activities that we pursue at a high level of skill.
<p>
Theater is one of my own particular activities, and I've heard repeatedly
over the years how other groups cannot conceive of doing full-length
Shakespeare plays as SCA events, by and for SCA members, or of doing truly
improvisational commedia dell'arte performances the way i Sebastiani do.
The Waytes have attained a level of skill and professionalism that makes
them set the standard across most of the kingdom (and beyond, via
Pennsic).
The Poulet Gauche strives for higher and higher levels of authenticity and
total immersion each time it's held, and does so without leaving people
behind but rather meeting the challenge of the rising bar.  Carolingia was
one of the first groups in the East to develop archery as a group
activity,
and still there are always Carolingians in the top of every kingdom
archery
list; similarly with thrown weapons (but you'd know that better than I).
Hurley is a very recent example of an activity that (within Carolingia)
came out of nowhere to becoming some people's main area of involvement,
and
to a level where we're challenging the people who developed it first.
<p>
It's not so much these activities in particular - and there are so many,
many more (look, I left out dance as a Carolingian activity!) - but the
*number* of them that most impresses me.  Sure, individual activities wax
and wane in number of participants and level of involvement, but there's
always so many that are at a high level at any time.  That's what makes
Carolingia truly amazing, by my lights.
