One night a year and it's three hours away. Worth it?

I live in a small city where nothing like this happens at all. The nearest event I can find is three hours away by car and it runs once a year.

That is a long way to go for one night, a hotel, and the possibility that I arrive not knowing a soul and stand at the edge of the room. I have talked myself into and out of buying a ticket about four times this month.

For people who travel for these: is it worth it? Does going alone to somewhere you have never been work out, or is it worth waiting until I know a few people first? And has anyone started something in a place that had nothing, because I am starting to wonder about that too.