Red, White, And Bikini: Saylor’s 4th of July Beach Bash at Sequoia

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You haven't made it in the DC social scene until you've attended one of Michael Saylor's over-the-top celebrations. He has about three a year: Rocktoberfest, his birthday, and of course, his 4th of July party that is often held at his rooftop Georgetown Waterfront residence. This year, his residence is under renovation, so he moved the party 100 yards away to Sequoia.

There was a torrential downpour right before the party, which soaked the upholstered set-up on the patio. "Sequoia will hold 1200 people inside and another 1200 outside, so the party will go forward rain or shine," he wrote in an email to his 1,000 RSVP's. Luckily, the rain cleared up about 15 minutes before the party, and Sequoia employees ran outside with towels to clear off the chairs and open the exterior back up. Each RSVP on Facebook got a plus one, so the event was packed in a sea of Red, White and Blue international and Georgetown society VIPs. There were even a few athletes--Alex Ovechkin held court with teammate John Carlson and other friends at a table by a window, and we overheard someone say Saylor's best friend, Ray Regan, saved the pride of a NJ Nets player that was getting bounced at the door.

Speaking of the door, the invite instructed attendees to download his new iPhone application, ALERT, to gain privileges to the after-party on his yacht, Firefly, with a special wristband. Of course, Guest of a Guest DC downloaded the app, but our wristbands looked the same as the non-downloaders. We were still granted access to the Firefly (which was parked 20 feet away from Sequoia along the waterfront), but were promptly booted at 11pm so the crew could prepare for the after-party. "We downloaded the app!" we exclaimed, but were still turned away. Later in the night, noticeably beautiful women were walking around with special wristbands; we are not sure if they downloaded the app, or if Saylor changed his mind last minute and took the opportunity to cherry-pick his after-party attendees.

Other noteworthy things that went on: "seasoned" society favorite Chip Dent charming every girl in the venue, model Stefanie Ball working the room with two girls, a gaggle of 20-somethings snapping a group photo with Ray Regan, an event employee dropping a 72-inch tv (thousands shattered pieces were quickly cleaned up), dozens of bikini-clad dancers shaking their tails upon every available ledge, fire breathers, hula hoopers, and many other one-person acts. Our favorite was the man in the full body American Flag suit, who happened to have a wide range of talents from fly swatting to acrobatics to unicycling.

Towards the end of the night, we caught up with beauty Ava Deylami, who was gingerly slipping off a coveted Firefly wristband and setting it on the table. "Maybe someone that really wants to go will grab it. I'm going to a Garden Party after this," she said. A few minutes later, a redhead in a sparkly red, white and blue mini dress grabbed the wristband and ran back to her friends.

Attendees indulged in the top shelf open bars (one was made entirely out of ice), plenty of passed hors d'oeuvres, an ice luge, bottomless sushi (a Saylor party staple), and traditional Independence Day BBQ fare like hotdogs, hamburgers, and macaroni and cheese. At the beginning of the party, Sequoia employees held trays of signature drinks, like their cranberry mojito. Saylor even helped guests up the ante on their costumes with a table filled with red, white, and blue light-up rings and glasses, Hawaiian leis, and glow sticks.