As you’re certainly aware, alcohol has a definitive place in American cultural lore—and on June 5 to 7, you get to learn a little about how it got that way. The first San Diego Spirits Festival is but moments hence, featuring tastings and networking parties for all levels of expertise in the cocktail experience. Beverage pros and consumers will get the chance to taste the hottest and newest brands while learning the art from some of the most acclaimed mixologists in the biz. The fun starts Friday with hosted cocktails, DJs and a live fashion show; it continues Saturday and Sunday with seminars on the art of the pour, a pool party and a bikini fashion show. The Se Hotel, at 1047 Fifth Ave., kindly encourages your presence Friday at 8 p.m. For information on the rest of the weekend, see sesandiego.com or call (619) 515-3000. Lore has it that Cyrano de Bergerac’s schnoz was so big that he wasn’t allowed aboard watercraft of any kind, for fear his proboscis would catch the wind and alter the ship’s course by mistake. That’s probably just a joke. What’s not so funny is that the heartsick Cyrano was a real guy, not just a title to the Edmond Rostand romance play, which on June 13 kicks off The Old Globe Theatre’s Summer Shakespeare Festival. This is the first time the current festival is mounting a non-Bill show—for that, thank Globe artistic director Darko Tresnjak, helmer of this piece and still one of the most sought-after theater men in the country. The festival takes place at the Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. “Cyrano de Bergerac” opens in previews at 8 p.m. Admission is $29 to $56. For more, see oldglobe.org or call (619) 23-GLOBE. We (and, probably, you) remember Gladys Knight when she was the anchor Pip. Those days are gone – but Knight, it turns out, is as timeless as her music. She’s the inaugural act in this year’s San Diego Symphony Summer Pops series, beginning Saturday, June 27 and held again at the Embarcadero Marina Park South. This so-called Tux ’n’ Tennies entry lets you dress how you want and sets the stage for the rest of the summer, with visits from Marvin Hamlisch, Davy Jones, Dionne Warwick, Jose Feliciano, Melissa Manchester and Burt Bacharach on tap. The park is at 111 West Harbor Drive. The Gladys Knight show begins at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 to $65. For more about the show and the summer series, see sandiegosymphony.org or call (619) 235-0804. — by Martin Jones Westlin and from staff reports