A familiar moustached man, most known for his adventures in space, will be making his way to Vernon in May.

Retired astronaut, musician, and social-media legend is on a national tour for Canada鈥檚 150th birthday and will make one stop in the Okanagan.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a birthday and birthdays are for celebrating,鈥� he said. Hadfield isn鈥檛 a retrospective guy, but he says by looking to the past we can ask ourselves how we got to where we are, what we are doing wrong, what we can laugh about and what we can focus on for the future.

鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I鈥檓 going to be talking about. It鈥檚 how I approach everything; flying an airplane, flying a spaceship, playing a song or celebrating Canada鈥檚 birthday.鈥�

Hadfield kicks off his 150 tour on the West Coast in Vancouver, making his way eastward to Vernon on May 14. It鈥檚 his only stop in the Okanagan.

鈥淚鈥檓 looking forward to being in the B.C. valleys. It鈥檚 such a beautiful part of the country. Whether you鈥檙e skiing or water skiing or looking down on it from orbit,鈥� said the 57-year-old.

The Ontario resident has always been a big advocate of Canada. As an astronaut from 1992 to 2013 at the Canadian Space Agency, Hadfield travelled in space sharing songs and experiences through and to the earthlings below, gaining almost 2 million Twitter followers.

He didn鈥檛 just broadcast from space either. He has toured the far reaches of Canada, speaking, performing and inspiring those around him.

鈥淚 spoke at hundreds of places across Canada. When you have that experience, you can鈥檛 help but realize every single place is Canada. Everybody is prideful, they do the best they can in that particular place and it鈥檚 when you start knitting them together in your head you start to see what Canada really is,鈥� he said.

Apart from his tour, Hadfield was involved in the recruitment process for Canada鈥檚 next astronauts which includes . Federley listed Hadfield as one of his role models and across the province, Hadfield鈥檚 story is told in Grade 6 textbooks.

鈥淚t鈥檚 a tremendous honour for someone to look up to you. I kinda shake my head. It鈥檚 a responsibility as well. It鈥檚 something to recognize that they鈥檙e using my decision making (ability) in life as an example to those young Canadians,鈥� said Hadfield. 鈥淚 see it as a huge privilege and also a reminded of how I need to conduct my life.鈥�

He gives the potential candidates the same advice he gives to everyone, to choose the things in life that you dream of and find a way to pursue them. To Hadfield, it鈥檚 about the little things he puts towards his goals each day, from deciding to ride a bike, or eat dessert which makes him who he is. He thinks of it as 鈥渨hat can I do to change myself to become the person I dream about being? How complete a person can I be and how can I put my best foot forward?鈥�

The decision will be tough for the space agency to choose two candidates from 3,700 applications.

鈥淚t鈥檚 so heartening to see just how good Canadians are. It鈥檚 somewhere between delightful and agonizing to try and choose (only) two,鈥� he said. Hadfield owes his success to his 鈥渢enacious optimistic curiosity,鈥� adding it鈥檚 a dissatisfaction with what he doesn鈥檛 know, and a delight in finding new things that led him on his career path.

At the core of his presentation, Hadfield will be talking about his curiosity and how it led him on his journey as well as looking at the history of Canada, the challenges we face as a country and how the best to prepare for them.

Hadfield will be in performing and speaking at the Vernon and District Performing Arts Centre May 14.

Tickets are available at the , or by phone at 250-549-7469. Cost is $77.25 for all seats. This will be an all-ages show.